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Diffstat (limited to '13806-h')
| -rw-r--r-- | 13806-h/13806-h.htm | 20613 | ||||
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diff --git a/13806-h/13806-h.htm b/13806-h/13806-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7531cce --- /dev/null +++ b/13806-h/13806-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,20613 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en" xml:lang="en"> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Overland through Asia; Pictures of Siberian, Chinese, and Tartar Life, by Thomas Wallace Knox</title> + <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> + <style type='text/css'> + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,.center { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + body{margin-left: 7%; + margin-right: 7%; + } + table{font-size: 85%; + } + .note {margin-left: 2em; + margin-right: 2em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + font-size: 85%;} /* footnote */ + .poem {margin-left:10%; + margin-right:10%; + text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span {display: block; + margin: 0; + padding-left: 3em; + text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i1 {display: block; margin-left: 1em;} + .poem span.i8 {display: block; margin-left: 8em;} + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + a:link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:#0000ff; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:#ff0000} + pre {font-size: 8pt;} + + .figcenter {clear: both; max-width: 100%; margin: 2em auto; text-align: center;} + div.figcenter p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} + .figcenter img {max-width: 100%; height: auto;} + .ig001 {width:100%;} + .id001 {width:30%;} + .x-ebookmaker .id001 {margin-left:35%; width:30%;} + .id002 {width:60%;} + .x-ebookmaker .id002 {margin-left:20%; width:60%;} + .id003 {width:20%;} + .x-ebookmaker .id003 {margin-left:40%; width:20%;} + + .large {font-size: large;} + .xlarge {font-size: x-large;} + .small {font-size: small;} + .xsmall {font-size: x-small;} + div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; + page-break-after: always;} + div.titlepage p {text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; + line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 3em;} + div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} + .em2 {height: 2em;} + .em4 {height: 4em;} + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13806 ***</div> + +<table style="background-color:LightBlue" cellpadding='10'> + <tr> + <td valign='top'> + Note: + </td> + <td> + Two spellings, “Tunguse” and “Tunguze,” are used throughout the + book for the same tribe.<br /> + <br /> + The caption of Illustrations #55, 58, 103, 144 differ from the + captions given in the table and were not changed. + </td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr class='full' /> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src="images/xlg001-1.gif" id='xlg001-1' class='ig001' +alt="FRONTISPIECE, THE AUTHOR IN SIBERIAN COSTUME" /> +</div> +<div class='titlepage'> +<h1><span class='xlarge'>OVERLAND</span><br /> +THROUGH ASIA.<br /> + <br /> +<span class='small'>PICTURES OF</span><br /> +<span class='xlarge'>SIBERIAN, CHINESE, AND TARTAR<br /> +LIFE.</span><br /> + <br /> +<span class='small'>TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES IN KAMCHATKA, SIBERIA, CHINA, MONGOLIA, +CHINESE TARTARY, AND EUROPEAN RUSSIA, WITH FULL ACCOUNTS +OF THE SIBERIAN EXILES, THEIR TREATMENT, +CONDITION, AND MODE OF LIFE, A DESCRIPTION +OF THE AMOOR RIVER, AND +THE SIBERIAN SHORES OF THE +FROZEN OCEAN.</span><br /> + <br /> +<span class='large'>WITH AN APPROPRIATE MAP,</span><br /> +<span class='small'>AND</span><br /> +<span class='large'>NEARLY 200 ILLUSTRATIONS.</span></h1> +<div class='em2'></div> +<hr /> + +<div class='small'>BY</div> +<div class='large'>THOMAS W. KNOX.</div> + +<div class='small'>AUTHOR OF “CAMP FIRE AND COTTON FIELD.”</div> +<hr /> +<div class='xsmall'>ISSUED BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY, AND NOT FOR SALE IN THE BOOK STORES. +RESIDENTS OF ANY STATE DESIRING A COPY SHOULD ADDRESS THE PUBLISHERS, +AND AN AGENT WILL CALL UPON THEM.</div> +<hr /> + +<p>HARTFORD, CONN:</p> + +<p>AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY.</p> + +<p>F. 6. GILMAN & CO., CHICAGO, ILLS.; NETTLETON & CO., CINCINNATI, OHIO.</p> + +<p>H. H. BANCROFT & CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.</p> + +<p>1871.</p> +</div> + + + +<hr /> +<div class='chapter'><h2><a name='PREFACE'>PREFACE.</a></h2></div> + + +<p>Fourteen years ago Major Perry McD. Collins traversed Northern Asia, +and wrote an account, of his journey, entitled “A Voyage Down the +Amoor.” With the exception of that volume no other work on this little +known region has appeared from the pen of an American writer. In view +of this fact, the author of “Overland Through Asia” indulges the hope +that his book will not be considered a superfluous addition to the +literature of his country.</p> + +<p>The journey herein recorded was undertaken partly as a pleasure trip, +partly as a journalistic enterprise, and partly in the interest of the +company that attempted to carry out the plans of Major Collins to make +an electric connection between Europe and the United States by way of +Asia and Bering’s Straits. In the service of the Russo-American +Telegraph Company, it may not be improper to state that the author’s +official duties were so few, and his pleasures so numerous, as to +leave the kindest recollections of the many persons connected with the +enterprise.</p> + +<p>Portions of this book have appeared in Harper’s, Putnam’s, The +Atlantic, The Galaxy, and the Overland Monthlies, and in Frank +Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. They have been received with such +favor as to encourage their reproduction wherever they could be +introduced in the narrative of the journey. The largest part of the +book has been written from a carefully recorded journal, and is now in +print for the first time. The illustrations have been made from +photographs and pencil sketches, and in all cases great care has been +exercised to represent correctly the costumes of the country. To +Frederick Whymper, Esq., artist of the Telegraph Expedition, and to +August Hoffman, (Photographer,) of Irkutsk, Eastern Siberia, the +author is specially indebted.</p> + +<p>The orthography of geographical names is after the Russian model. The +author hopes it will not be difficult to convince his countrymen that +the shortest form of spelling is the best, especially when it +represents the pronunciation more accurately than does the old method. +A frontier justice once remarked, when a lawyer ridiculed his way of +writing ordinary words, that a man was not properly educated who could +spell a word in only one way. On the same broad principle I will not +quarrel with those who insist upon retaining an extra letter in Bering +and Ohotsk and two superfluous letters in Kamchatka.</p> + +<p>Among those not mentioned in the volume, thanks are due to Frederick +Macrellish, Esq., of San Francisco, Hon. F.F. Low of Sacramento, +Alfred Whymper, Esq., of London, and the many gentlemen connected with +the Telegraph Expedition. There are dozens and hundreds of individuals +in Siberia and elsewhere, of all grades and conditions in life, who +have placed me under numberless obligations. Wherever I traveled the +most uniform courtesy was shown me, and though conscious that few of +those dozens and hundreds will ever read these lines, I should +consider myself ungrateful did I fail to acknowledge their kindness to +a wandering American.</p> + +<p>T.W.K.</p> + +<p>ASTOR HOUSE, N.Y., Sept. 15, 1870.</p> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src="images/listills.gif" class='ig001' +alt="LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS By TAY & COX 105 Nassau St. N.Y." /></div> + +<hr /> +<div class='em2'></div> + +<p>1. <a href='#xlg001-1'>FRONTISPIECE, THE AUTHOR IN SIBERIAN COSTUME</a></p> +<p>2. <a href='#sm019-1'>CHARACTER DEVELOPED</a></p> +<p>3. <a href='#lg022-1'>ASPINWALL TO PANAMA</a></p> +<p>4. <a href='#lg023-1'>SLIGHTLY MONOTONOUS</a></p> +<p>5. <a href='#lg024-1'>MONTGOMERY STREET IN HOLIDAY DRESS</a></p> +<p>6. <a href='#lg025-1'>SAN FRANCISCO, 1848</a></p> +<p>7. <a href='#lg026-1'>CHINESE DINNER</a></p> +<p>8. <a href='#lg030-1'>OVER SIX FEET</a></p> +<p>9. <a href='#lg032-1'>STEAMSHIP WRIGHT IN A STORM</a></p> +<p>10. <a href='#sm033-1'>A SEA SICK BOOBY</a></p> +<p>11. <a href='#sm034-1'>WRECK OF THE SHIP CANTON</a></p> +<p>12. <a href='#lg037-1'>ALEUTIANS CATCHING WHALES</a></p> +<p>13. <a href='#sm043-1'>BREACH OF ETIQUETTE</a></p> +<p>14. <a href='#sm045-1'>UNEXPECTED HONORS</a></p> +<p>15. <a href='#lg047-1'>RUSSIAN MARRIAGE</a></p> +<p>16. <a href='#lg050-1'>RUSSIAN POPE AT HOME</a></p> +<p>17. <a href='#sm052-1'>A SCALY BRIDGE</a></p> +<p>18. <a href='#lg054-1'>RUSSIAN TEA SERVICE</a></p> +<p>19. <a href='#lg056-1'>CHANGE FOR A DOLLAR</a></p> +<p>20. <a href='#lg058-1'>COW AND BEAR</a></p> +<p>21. <a href='#lg060-1'>A KAMCHATKA TEAM</a></p> +<p>22. <a href='#lg063-1'>REPULSE OF THE ASSAILANTS</a></p> +<p>23. <a href='#lg069-1'>VIEW OF SITKA</a></p> +<p>24. <a href='#lg077-1'>PLENTY OF TIME</a></p> +<p>25. <a href='#lg078-1'>RUSSIAN OFFICERS AT MESS</a></p> +<p>26. <a href='#lg081-1'>ASCENDING THE BAY</a></p> +<p>27. <a href='#lg083-1'>TAKING THE CENSUS</a></p> +<p>28. <a href='#sm084-1'>LIGHT-HOUSE AT GHIJIGA</a></p> +<p>29. <a href='#lg086-1'>TOWED BY DOGS</a></p> +<p>30. <a href='#sm089-1'>KORIAK YOURT</a></p> +<p>31. <a href='#sm092-1'>DISCHARGING A DECK LOAD</a></p> +<p>32. <a href='#sm093-1'>REINDEER RIDE</a></p> +<p>33. <a href='#ILLUS_096'>TAIL PIECE, REINDEER</a></p> +<p>34. <a href='#lg100-1'>WAGON RIDE WITH DOGS</a></p> +<p>35. <a href='#lg102-1'>YEARLY MAIL</a></p> +<p>36. <a href='#lg103-1'>DOGS FISHING</a></p> +<p>37. <a href='#lg109-1'>TEACHINGS OF EXPERIENCE</a></p> +<p>38. <a href='#lg117-1'>BOAT LOAD OF SALMON</a></p> +<p>39. <a href='#lg118-1'>AN EFFECTIVE PROTEST</a></p> +<p>40. <a href='#lg122-1'>NOTHING BUT BONES</a></p> +<p>41. <a href='#ILLUS_125'>TAIL PIECE—NATIVE WOMAN</a></p> +<p>42. <a href='#lg127-1'>SEEING OFF</a></p> +<p>43. <a href='#xlg131-1'>LIFE ON THE AMOOR</a></p> +<p>44. <a href='#lg134-1'>A GILYAK VILLAGE</a></p> +<p>45. <a href='#lg136-1'>ABOUT FULL</a></p> +<p>46. <a href='#ILLUS_137'>TAIL PIECE—A TURN OUT</a></p> +<p>47. <a href='#lg140-1'>ON THE AMOOR</a></p> +<p>48. <a href='#sm142-1'>CASH ACCOUNT</a></p> +<p>49. <a href='#lg143-1'>WOODING UP</a></p> +<p>50. <a href='#lg147-1'>BEAR IN PROCESSION</a></p> +<p>51. <a href='#lg149-1'>PRACTICE OF MEDICINE</a></p> +<p>52. <a href='#sm152-1'>MANJOUR MERCHANT</a></p> +<p>53. <a href='#lg154-1'>GILYAK MAN</a></p> +<p>54. <a href='#lg155-1'>GILYAK WOMAN</a></p> +<p>55. <a href='#xlg156-1'>PEASANTS BY MOONLIGHT</a></p> +<p>56. <a href='#ILLUS_161'>TAIL PIECE—THE NET</a></p> +<p>57. <a href='#lg164-1'>TEN MILES AN HOUR</a></p> +<p>58. <a href='#xlg167-1'>GOLDEE HOUSE AT NIGHT</a></p> +<p>59. <a href='#sm168-1'>THE HYPOCHONDRIAC</a></p> +<p>60. <a href='#sm172-1'>“NOT FOR JOE”</a></p> +<p>61. <a href='#ILLUS_174'>TAIL PIECE—SCENE ON THE RIVER</a></p> +<p>62. <a href='#lg177-1'>RECEPTION AT PETROVSKY</a></p> +<p>63. <a href='#lg181-1'>ARMED AND EQUIPPED</a></p> +<p>64. <a href='#lg187-1'>GENERAL ACTIVITY</a></p> +<p>65. <a href='#ILLUS_188'>TAIL PIECE—FLASK</a></p> +<p>66. <a href='#lg193-1'>MANJOUR BOAT</a></p> +<p>67. <a href='#lg201-1'>A PRIVATE TEMPLE</a></p> +<p>68. <a href='#lg204-1'>FISHING IMPLEMENTS</a></p> +<p>69. <a href='#ILLUS_210'>CHINESE FAMILY PICTURE</a></p> +<p>70. <a href='#lg216-1'>MANJOUR TRAVELING CARRIAGE</a></p> +<p>71. <a href='#ILLUS_221'>TAIL PIECE—TOWARDS THE SUN</a></p> +<p>72. <a href='#lg223-1'>THE AMMUNITION WAGON</a></p> +<p>73. <a href='#lg228-1'>FINISHING TOUCH</a></p> +<p>74. <a href='#lg234-1'>EMIGRANTS ON THE AMOOR</a></p> +<p>75. <a href='#lg238-1'>SA-GA-YAN CLIFF</a></p> +<p>76. <a href='#sm241-1'>RIFLE SHOOTING</a></p> +<p>77. <a href='#ILLUS_244'>TAIL PIECE—GAME</a></p> +<p>78. <a href='#lg252-1'>PREPARING FOR WINTER</a></p> +<p>79. <a href='#ILLUS_254'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>80. <a href='#xlg257-1'>STRATENSK, EASTERN SIBERIA</a></p> +<p>81. <a href='#lg263-1'>A SIBERIAN TARANTASS</a></p> +<p>82. <a href='#ILLUS_266'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>83. <a href='#lg274-1'>FAVORITE BED</a></p> +<p>84. <a href='#lg278-1'>CONCENTRATED ENERGIES</a></p> +<p>85. <a href='#lg281-1'>PRISONERS AT CHETAH</a></p> +<p>86. <a href='#lg284-1'>ON THE HILLS NEAR CHETAH</a></p> +<p>87. <a href='#lg291-1'>BOURIAT YOURTS</a></p> +<p>88. <a href='#sm293-1'>A MONGOL BELL</a></p> +<p>89. <a href='#lg294-1'>A MONGOL BELLE</a></p> +<p>90. <a href='#lg295-1'>CATCHING SHEEP</a></p> +<p>91. <a href='#lg296-1'>A COLD BATH</a></p> +<p>92. <a href='#ILLUS_300'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>93. <a href='#lg302-1'>OUR FERRY BOAT</a></p> +<p>94. <a href='#lg305-1'>EQUAL RIGHTS</a></p> +<p>95. <a href='#lg309-1'>AMATEUR CONCERT IN SIBERIA</a></p> +<p>96. <a href='#lg312-1'>CHINESE MANDARIN</a></p> +<p>97. <a href='#xlg316-1'>INTERIOR OF CHINESE TEMPLE</a></p> +<p>98. <a href='#ILLUS_320'>THROUGH ORDINARY EYES</a></p> +<p>99. <a href='#ILLUS_321'>THROUGH CHINESE EYES</a></p> +<p>100. <a href='#sm325-1'>LEGAL TENDER</a></p> +<p>101. <a href='#xlg327-1'>RUSSIAN PETS</a></p> +<p>102. <a href='#lg328-1'>PONY EXPRESS</a></p> +<p>103. <a href='#sm329-1'>A DISAGREEABLE APPENDAGE</a></p> +<p>104. <a href='#lg329-2'>SUSPENDED FREEDOM</a></p> +<p>105. <a href='#lg330-1'>PUNISHMENT FOR BURGLARY</a></p> +<p>106. <a href='#sm331-1'>CHOPSTICK, FORK, AND SAUCER</a></p> +<p>107. <a href='#xlg332-1'>CHINESE THEATRE</a></p> +<p>108. <a href='#sm333-1'>CHINESE TIGER</a></p> +<p>109. <a href='#xlg339-1'>CHINESE PUNISHMENT</a></p> +<p>110. <a href='#xlg344-1'>PROVISION DEALER</a></p> +<p>111. <a href='#xlg346-1'>CHINESE MENDICANTS</a></p> +<p>112. <a href='#lg348-1'>THE FAVORITE</a></p> +<p>113. <a href='#sm349-1'>FEMALE FEET AND SHOE</a></p> +<p>114. <a href='#xlg350-1'>A LOTTERY PRIZE</a></p> +<p>115. <a href='#lg352-1'>A CHINESE PALANQUIN</a></p> +<p>116. <a href='#lg352-2'>A PEKIN CAB</a></p> +<p>117. <a href='#lg353-1'>PRIEST IN TEMPLE OF CONFUCIUS</a></p> +<p>118. <a href='#lg356-1'>COMFORTS AND CONVENIENCES</a></p> +<p>119. <a href='#lg356-2'>FILIAL ATTENTION</a></p> +<p>120. <a href='#ILLUS_357'>TAIL PIECE—OPIUM PIPE</a></p> +<p>121. <a href='#lg359-1'>A MUSICAL STOP</a></p> +<p>122. <a href='#xlg362-1'>NANKOW PASS</a></p> +<p>123. <a href='#xlg365-1'>RACING AT THE KALGAN FAIR</a></p> +<p>124. <a href='#xlg366-1'>STREET IN KALGAN</a></p> +<p>125. <a href='#sm367-1'>IN GOOD CONDITION</a></p> +<p>126. <a href='#lg371-1'>LOST IN THE DESERT OF GOBI</a></p> +<p>127. <a href='#sm374-1'>MONGOL DINNER TABLE</a></p> +<p>128. <a href='#xlg375-1'>CROSSING THE TOLLA</a></p> +<p>129. <a href='#xlg379-1'>THE SCHOOLMASTER</a></p> +<p>130. <a href='#ILLUS_380'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>131. <a href='#lg384-1'>WILD BOAR HUNT</a></p> +<p>132. <a href='#sm385-1'>A WIFE AT IRKUTSK</a></p> +<p>133. <a href='#sm385-2'>NO WIFE AT IRKUTSK</a></p> +<p>134. <a href='#sm387-1'>A SOUDNA</a></p> +<p>135. <a href='#xlg389-1'>AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE</a></p> +<p>136. <a href='#xlg390-1'>LAKE BAIKAL IN WINTER</a></p> +<p>137. <a href='#sm394-1'>A SPECIMEN</a></p> +<p>138. <a href='#ILLUS_395'>TAIL PIECE—THE WORLD</a></p> +<p>139. <a href='#lg397-1'>GOV. GENERAL KORSACKOFF</a></p> +<p>140. <a href='#lg400-1'>VIEW—IRKUTSK</a></p> +<p>141. <a href='#lg404-1'>A COLD ATTACHMENT</a></p> +<p>142. <a href='#lg407-1'>QUEEN OF GREECE</a></p> +<p>143. <a href='#lg410-1'>EMPEROR OF RUSSIA</a></p> +<p>144. <a href='#ILLUS_415'>TAIL PIECE—TWIN BOTTLES</a></p> +<p>145. <a href='#lg419-1'>HOME OF TWO EXILES—REAL, IMAGINARY</a></p> +<p>146. <a href='#ILLUS_428'>TAIL PIECE—QUARTERS</a></p> +<p>147. <a href='#xlg432-1'>TARTAR CAVALRY</a></p> +<p>148. <a href='#xlg441-1'>SIBERIAN EXILES</a></p> +<p>149. <a href='#ILLUS_446'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>150. <a href='#sm450-1'>A VASHOK</a></p> +<p>151. <a href='#sm451-1'>A KIBITKA</a></p> +<p>152. <a href='#lg454-1'>FAREWELL TO IRKUTSK</a></p> +<p>153. <a href='#lg465-1'>OUR CONDUCTOR</a></p> +<p>154. <a href='#lg467-1'>JUMPING CRADLE HOLES</a></p> +<p>155. <a href='#lg473-1'>VALLEY OF THE YENESEI</a></p> +<p>156. <a href='#xlg478-1'>WOLF HUNT</a></p> +<p>157. <a href='#xlg484-1'>HYDRAULIC MINING</a></p> +<p>158. <a href='#ILLUS_489'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>159. <a href='#xlg495-1'>DOWN HILL</a></p> +<p>160. <a href='#xlg501-1'>DOGS AMONG ICE</a></p> +<p>161. <a href='#xlg504-1'>JUMPING THE FISSURES</a></p> +<p>162. <a href='#ILLUS_506'>THE TEAM</a></p> +<p>163. <a href='#ILLUS_520'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>164. <a href='#lg528-1'>IN THE MINE</a></p> +<p>165. <a href='#lg530-1'>STRANGE COINCIDENCE</a></p> +<p>166. <a href='#ILLUS_531'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>167. <a href='#lg539-1'>THE ELOPEMENT</a></p> +<p>168. <a href='#lg540-1'>THE FIGHT</a></p> +<p>169. <a href='#lg541-1'>THE CATASTROPHE</a></p> +<p>170. <a href='#ILLUS_542'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>171. <a href='#lg547-1'>THE POLKEDOVATE</a></p> +<p>172. <a href='#sm548-1'>MAKING EXPLANATION</a></p> +<p>173. <a href='#lg550-1'>AFTER THE BATH</a></p> +<p>174. <a href='#ILLUS_552'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>175. <a href='#lg556-1'>THE DRIVER’S TOILET</a></p> +<p>176. <a href='#lg557-1'>WOMEN SPINNING</a></p> +<p>177. <a href='#lg559-1'>FLOGGING WITH STICKS</a></p> +<p>178. <a href='#ILLUS_563'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>179. <a href='#xlg565-1'>LOST IN A SNOW STORM</a></p> +<p>180. <a href='#xlg571-1'>FATAL RESULT</a></p> +<p>181. <a href='#ILLUS_573'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>182. <a href='#lg575-1'>EXCUSE MY FAMILIARITY</a></p> +<p>183. <a href='#sm576-1'>FROSTED HORSES</a></p> +<p>184. <a href='#xlg581-1'>VIEW OF EKATERINEBURG</a></p> +<p>185. <a href='#sm587-1'>EUROPE AND ASIA</a></p> +<p>186. <a href='#lg588-1'>A RUSSIAN BEGGAR</a></p> +<p>187. <a href='#xlg607-1'>BEGGARS IN KAZAN</a></p> +<p>188. <a href='#lg608-1'>THE IMMERSION</a></p> +<p>189. <a href='#lg611-1'>RUSSIAN PRIEST</a></p> +<p>199. <a href='#ILLUS_614'>TAIL PIECE</a></p> +<p>191. <a href='#xlg618-1'>GREAT BELL OF MOSCOW</a></p> +<p>192. <a href='#xlg620-1'>VIEW OF THE NEVSKI PROSPECT, ST. PETERSBURG</a></p> +<p>193. <a href='#ILLUS_622'>TAIL PIECE—MEETING AN OLD FRIEND</a></p> +<p>194. <a href='#xlg623-1'>MAP TO ACCOMPANY THOS. W. KNOX’S “OVERLAND THROUGH + ASIA”</a></p> + + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src="images/contents.gif" class='ig001' +alt="Contents" /></div> +<hr /> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_I'>CHAPTER I.</a><br /> + +<br />Off from New York—Around the world by steam—Value of a letter of +credit—A cure for sea sickness—Doing the Isthmus—An exciting +porpoise race—Glimpse of San Francisco—Trip to the Yo Semite +Valley—From the Golden Gate into the Pacific</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_II'>CHAPTER II.</a><br /> + +<br />A strange company—Difficulties of sea life—A tall man and a short +room—How the dog went to sleep—A soapy cabin—Catching a booby—Two +Sundays together—A long lost wreck—Incidents at sea—Manner of +catching whales in Alaska—A four footed pilot—Dog stories—How to +take an observation—Coast of Asia—Entering Avatcha bay—An +economical light keeper</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_III'>CHAPTER III.</a><br /> + +<br />In a Russian port—Hail Columbia—Petropavlovsk—Volcanoes and +earth-quakes—Directions for making a Russian town—A Kamchadale +wedding—Standing up with the bride—A hot ceremony—A much married +pope—Russian religious practices—Drinking with the priest and what +came of it</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_IV'>CHAPTER IV.</a><br /> + +<br />Vegetation in Kamchatka—Catching salmon—A scaly bridge—An evening +on shore—Samovars and tea drinking—The fur trade—Bear hunting—What +a cow brought home one day—Siberian dogs—A musical town—The +adventures of Norcum—Training a team—Sledges and how to manage +them—A voyage under the Polish flag—Monument to Captain Clerke—The +allied attack—The battle of Petropavlovsk</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_V'>CHAPTER V.</a><br /> + +<br />Bering’s voyages—Discovery of Alaska—Shipwreck and death of +Bering—The Russian-American Company—The first governor of +Alaska—Promushleniks—Russian settlement in California—Account of +Russian explorations—Character of the country—Its extent and +resources—Advantages and disadvantages of the Alaska purchase</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_VI'>CHAPTER VI.</a><br /> + +<br />Leaving Kamchatka—Farewell to the ladies—A new kind of +telegraph—Entering the Ohotsk sea—From Steam to sail—Sleeping among +chronometers—Talking by-signs—A burial at sea—A Russian +funeral—Land in sight—Ghijiga bay</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_VII'>CHAPTER VII.</a><br /> + +<br />Baggage for shore travel—Much wine and little bread—A perplexing +dilemma—How to take the census—Siberian beds—Towed by +dogs—Encounter with a beast—Coaxing a team with clubs—The +Koriaks—Their manners and customs—Comical cap for a native—A four +footed currency—Yourts and Balagans—Curious marriage +ceremony—Lightening a boat in a storm—Very strong whisky—Riding on +a reindeer—An intoxicating mushroom—An electric devil—a Siberian +snow storm—How a party was lost</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII'>CHAPTER VIII.</a><br /> + +<br />How a pointer became a bull dog—Coral in high latitudes—Sending +Champagne to Neptune—Arrival at Ohotsk—Three kinds of natives—A +lunch with the ladies—A native entertainment—A mail once a year—A +lover’s misfortune—An astonished American—Hunting a bear and being +hunted—An unfortunate ride</p> + + <p><a href='#CHAPTER_IX'>CHAPTER IX.</a><br /> + +<br />At sea again—Beauties of a Northern sky—Warlike news and preparing +for war—The coast of Japan—An exciting moment—A fog bell of sea +lions—Ready for fight—De Castries’ bay—A bewildered fleet—Goodbye +to the Variag—In the straits of Tartary—A difficult sleeping +place—A Siberian mirage—Entering the Amoor river</p> + + <p><a href='#CHAPTER_X'>CHAPTER X.</a><br /> + +<br />On shore at Nicolayevsk—An American Consul—Visiting the +Governor—Machine shops on the Amoor with American managers—The +servant girl question—A Gilyak boat full of salmon—An unfortunate +water carrier—The Amoor Company—Foreign and native +merchants—Raising sheep among tigers—Rats eating window +glass—Riding in a cart</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XI'>CHAPTER XI.</a><br /> + +<br />Up the Amoor—Seeing off a friend—A Siberian steamboat—How the +steamboats are managed—Packages by post—Curiosities of the Russian +mail service—An unhappy bride—Hay barges—Gilyak villages—Visiting +a village—Bad for the nose—Native dogs—Interviewing a Gilyak +lady—A rapid descent</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XII'>CHAPTER XII.</a><br /> + +<br />The monastery of Eternal Repose—Curious religious customs—Features +of the scenery—Passengers on our boat—An adventurous +merchant—Captured by the Chinese—A pretty girl and her fellow +passenger—Wooding up—An Amoor town—The telegraph—How it is built +and operated—A native school—Fighting the tiger—Religious practices +of the Gilyaks—Mistaken kindness</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII'>CHAPTER XIII.</a><br /> + +<br />Stepanoff and his career—A Manjour boat—Catching salmon—A sturgeon +pen—The islands of the Amoor—A night scene at a wooding station—A +natural cathedral—The birds of the Amoor—The natives of the +country—Interviewing a native Mandarin</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV'>CHAPTER XIV.</a><br /> + +<br />Entering a Goldee house—Native politeness—What to do with a tame +eagle—An intelligent dog team—An exciting race—A Mongol +belle—Visiting a Goldee house at night—A reception in a shirt—Fish +skin over-coats—Curious medical custom—Draw poker on the Amoor +river—Curiosity—Habarofka—“No turkey for me”—A visit on +shore—Experience with fleas</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XV'>CHAPTER XV.</a><br /> + +<br />First view of China—A beautiful region—Petrovsky—Women in the +water—An impolite reception—A scanty population—Visiting a military +post—Division of labor for a hunting excursion—The Songaree—A +Chinese military station—Resources of the Songaree—Experience of a +traveler—Hunting a tiger—A perilous adventure</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI'>CHAPTER XVI.</a><br /> + +<br />Ekaterin—Nikolskoi—The Province of the Amoor—Character of the +Cossack—The Buryea Mountains—A man overboard—Passing a mountain +chain—Manjour boats—Bringing pigs to market—Women in the open +air—A new tribe of natives—Rest for a bath—Russian caviar—How it +is made—Feeding with a native—A heavy drink—A fleet of fishing +boats</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII'>CHAPTER XVII.</a><br /> + +<br />Scenery on the middle Amoor—A military colony—Among the Manjours—A +Manjour temple—A Chinese naval station—A crew of women—Strange ways +of catching fish—The city of Igoon—Houses plastered with +mud—Visiting a harem—Talking pigeon-Chinese—Visiting the prison</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII'>CHAPTER XVIII.</a><br /> + +<br />The mouth of the Zeya—Blagoveshchensk—Kind reception by the +governor—Attending a funeral—A polyglot doctor and his +family—Intercourse with the Chinese—A visit to Sakhalin-Oula—A +government office—A Chinese traveling carriage—Visiting a Manjour +governor—A polite official—A Russian Mongol reception—Curiosities +of the Chinese police system—Advice to the Emperor of China</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XIX'>CHAPTER XIX.</a><br /> + +<br />A deer-hunting picnic—Russian ploughing—Nursing a deer gazelle—A +shot and what came of it—The return and overturn—The Siberian +gazelle—A Russian steam bath—How to take it—On a new steamer—The +cabin of the Korsackoff—A horse opera—An intoxicated priest—Private +stock of provisions—The dove a sacred bird—Emigrant rafts—A +Celestial guard house</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XX'>CHAPTER XX.</a><br /> + +<br />The upper Amoor—Sagayan cliff—- Hunting for gold—Rich gold mines in +the Amoor valley—The Tungusians—A goose for a cigar—An awkward +rifle—Albazin—The people in Sunday dress—The siege of +Albazin—Visiting the old fort</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXI'>CHAPTER XXI.</a><br /> + +<br />A sudden change—Beef preserved with laurel leaves—A Russian +settler—New York pictures in a Russian house—The Flowery +Kingdom—Early explorations—The conquest of the Amoor—A rapid +expedition—The Shilka and the Argoon—An old settled country—A lady +in the case—Hotels for the exiles—Stratensk—A large crowd—- End of +a long steamboat ride</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXII'>CHAPTER XXII.</a><br /> + +<br />A hotel at Stratensk—A romantic courtship—Starting overland—A +difficult ferry—A Russian posting carriage—Good substitute for a +trunk—“Road Agent” in Siberia—Rights of travelers—Kissing goes by +favor—Captain John Franklin’s equipage—Value of a ball—Stuck in the +mud—The valley of the Nertcha—Reaching Nerchinsk</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIII'>CHAPTER XXIII.</a><br /> + +<br />An extensive house—A Russian gold miner—Stories of the +exiles—Polish exiles—“The unfortunates”—The treatment of +prisoners—Attempts to escape—Buying a tarantass—Light marching +order—A bad road—Sleeping on a stove—The valley of the Ingodah—Two +hours in a mud hole—Recklessness of drivers—Arrival at Chetah</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIV'>CHAPTER XXIV.</a><br /> + +<br />Location of Chetah—Prisoners in chains—Ingenuity of the +exiles—Learning Hail Columbia in two hours—A governor’s mansion—A +hunting party—Siberian rabbits—Difficulties of matrimony—Religion +in Siberia—An artillery review—Champagne and farewells—Crossing a +frozen stream—Inconvenience of traveling with a dog—Crossing the +Yablonoi Mountains—Approaching the Arctic Ocean</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXV'>CHAPTER XXV.</a><br /> + +<br />A cold night—Traveling among the Mongols—The Bouriats and their +dwellings—An unpleasant fire—The Bhuddist religion—Conversions +among the natives—An easy way of catching sheep—A Mongol bell—A +Mongol belle—A late hour and a big dog—Bullocks under saddle—An +enterprising girl—Sleeping in a carriage—Arrival at Verkne +Udinsk—Walking in the market place—Stories of Siberian robbers—An +enterprising murderer—Gold and iron mines on the Selenga</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + + <p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVI'>CHAPTER XXVI.</a><br /> + +<br />Crossing a river on the ice—A dangerous situation—Dining on soup and +caviar—Caravans of tea—The rights of the road—How the drivers treat +each other—Selenginsk—An old exile—Troubled by the nose—Lodged by +the police—A housekeeper in undress—An amateur +concert—Troitskosavsk and Kiachta—Crossing the frontier—Visiting +the Chinese governor</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVII'>CHAPTER XXVII.</a><br /> + +<br />In the Chinese empire—A city without a woman—A Chinese court of +justice—Five interpretations—Chinese and Russian methods of tea +making—A Chinese temple—Sculpture in sand stone—The gods and the +Celestials—The Chinese idea of beauty—The houses in +Maimaichin—Chinese dogs—Bartering with the merchants—The Chinese +ideas of honesty—How they entertained us—The Abacus</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVIII'>CHAPTER XXVIII.</a><br /> + +<br />Russian feast days—A curious dinner custom—Novel separation of the +sexes—The wealth of Kiachta—The extent of the tea trade—Dodging the +custom house—Foreign residents of Kiachta—Fifteen dogs in one +family—The devil and the telegraph—Russian gambling—Dinner with the +Chinese governor—Chinese punishments—Ingredients of a Chinese +dinner—Going to the theatre in midday—Two dinners in one +day—Farewell to Kiachta</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIX'>CHAPTER XXIX.</a><br /> + +<br />Trade between America and China—The first ship for a Chinese +port—Chinese river system—The first steamboat on a Chinese +river—The Celestials astonished—A nation of shop-keepers—Chinese +insurance and banking systems—The first letters of credit—Railways +in the empire—The telegraph in China—Pigeon-English—The Chinese +treaty</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXX'>CHAPTER XXX.</a><br /> + +<br />The great cities of China—Pekin and its interesting features—The +Chinese city and the Tartar one—Rat peddlers, jugglers, beggars, and +other liberal professionals—The rat question in China—Tricks of the +jugglers—Mendicants and dwarfs—“The house of the hen’s +feathers”—How small feet became fashionable—Fashion in America and +China—Gambling in Pekin—An interesting lottery prize—Executions by +lot—Punishing robbers—Opposition to dancing—The temple of +Confucius—Temples of Heaven and Earth—The famous Summer +Palace—Chinese cemeteries—Coffins as household ornaments—Calmness +at death</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXI'>CHAPTER XXXI.</a><br /> + +<br />A journey through Mongolia—Chinese dislike to foreign travel—Leaving +Pekin—How to stop a mule’s music—The Nankow Pass—A fort captured +because of a woman—The great wall of China—Loading the pack +mules—Kalgan—Mosques and Pagodas—A Mongol horse fair—How a +transaction is managed—A camel journey on the desert—How to arrange +his load—A Mongolian cart—A brisk trade in wood for coffins</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXII'>CHAPTER XXXII.</a><br /> + +<br />Entering the desert of Gobi—Instincts of the natives—An antelope +hunt—Lost on the desert—Discovered and rescued—Character of the +Mongols—Boiled mutton, and how to eat it—Fording the Tolla river—An +exciting passage—Arrival at Urga—A Mongol Lamissary—The victory of +Genghis Khan—Chinese couriers—Sheep raising in Mongolia—Holy men in +abundance—Inconvenience of being a lama—A praying machine—Arrival +at Kiachta</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIII'>CHAPTER XXXIII.</a><br /> + +<br />Departure from Kiachta—An agreeable companion—Making ourselves +comfortable—A sacred village—Hunting a wild boar—A Russian +monastery—Approaching Lake Baikal—Hunting for letters—“Doing” +Posolsky—A pile of merchandise—A crowded house—Rifle and pistol +practice—A Russian soudna—A historic building—A lake steamer in +Siberia—Exiles on shore—A curious lake—Wonderful journey over the +ice—The Holy Sea—A curious group—The first custom house—Along the +banks of the Angara—A strange fish—Arrival at Irkutsk</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIV'>CHAPTER XXXIV.</a><br /> + +<br />Turned over to the police—Visiting the Governor General—An agreeable +officer in a fine house—Paying official visits—German in +pantomime—The passport system—Cold weather—Streets, stores, and +houses at Irkutsk—Description of the city—The Angara river—A novel +regulation—A swinging ferry boat—Cossack policeman—An alarm of +fire—“Running with the machine” in Russia—Markets at +Irkutsk—Effects of kissing with a low thermometer</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXV'>CHAPTER XXXV.</a><br /> + +<br />Society in Irkutsk—Social customs—Lingual powers of the +Russians—Effect of speaking two languages to an infant—Intercourse +of the Siberians with Polish exiles—A hospitable people—A +ceremonious dinner—Russian precision—A long speech and a short +translation—The Amoorski Gastinitza—Playing billiards at a +disadvantage—Muscovite superstition—Open house and pleasant +tea-parties—A wealthy gold miner</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVI'>CHAPTER XXXVI.</a><br /> + +<br />The exiles of 1825—The Emperor Paul and his eccentricities—Alexander +I.—The revolution of 1825—Its result—Severity of Nicholas—Hard +labor for life—Conditions of banishment—A pardon after thirty +years—Where the Decembrists live—The Polish question—Both sides of +it—Banishments since 1863—The government policy—Difference between +political and criminal exiles—Colonists—Drafted into the +army—Pension from friends—Attempts to escape—Restrictions find +social comforts—How the prisoners travel—The object of +deportation—Rules for exiling serfs</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVII'>CHAPTER XXXVII.</a><br /> + +<br />Serfdom and exile—Peter I. and Alexander II.—Example of Siberia to +old Russia—Prisoners in the mines—A revolt—The trial of the +insurgents—Sentence and execution—A remarkable escape—Piotrowski’s +narrative—Free after four years</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVIII'>CHAPTER XXXVIII.</a><br /> + +<br />Preparing to leave Irkutsk—Change from wheels to runners—Buying a +suit of fur—Negotiations for a sleigh—A great many +drinks—Peculiarities of Russian merchants—Similarities of Russians +and Chinese—Several kinds of sleighs—A Siberian saint—A farewell +dinner—Packing a sleigh—A companion with heavy baggage—Farewell +courtesies—Several parting drinks—Traveling through a frost +cloud—Effect of fog in a cold night—A monotonous snow scape—Meals +at the stations—A jolly party—An honest population—Diplomacy with +the drivers</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIX'>CHAPTER XXXIX.</a><br /> + +<br />A Siberian beverage—The wine of the country—An unhappy pig—Tea +caravans for Moscow—Intelligence of a horse—Champagne +frappé—Meeting the post—How the mail is carried—A lively shaking +up—Board of survey on a dead horse—Sleeping rooms in peasant +houses—Kansk—A road with no snow—Putting our sleighs on wheels—A +deceived Englishman—Crossing the Yenesei—Krasnoyarsk—Washing +clothes in winter—A Siberian banking house—The telegraph system—No +dead-heads—Fish from the Yenesei—A Siberian Neptune—Going on a wolf +hunt—How a hunt is managed—An exciting chase and a narrow escape</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XL'>CHAPTER XL.</a><br /> + +<br />Beggars at Krasnoyarsk—A wealthy city—Gold mining on the +Yenesei—Its extent and the value of the mines—How the mining is +conducted—Explorations, surveys, and the preparation of the +ground—Wages and treatment of laborers—Machines for gold +washing—Regulations to prevent thefts—Mining in frozen +earth—Antiquity of the mines—The native population—An Eastern +legend—The adventures of “Swan’s Wing”—Visit to lower regions—Moral +of the story</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLI'>CHAPTER XLI.</a><br /> + +<br />A philosophic companion—Traveling with the remains of a +mammoth—Talking against time—Sleighs on wheels—The advantages of +“cheek”—A moonlight transfer—Keeping the feast days—Getting drunk +as a religious duty—A slight smash up—A cold night—An abominable +road—Hunting a mammoth—Journey to the Arctic Circle—Natives on the +coast—A mammoth’s hide and hair—Ivory hunting in the frozen North—A +perilous adventure—Cast away in the Arctic ocean—Fight with a polar +bear—A dangerous situation—Frozen to the ice—Reaching the shore</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLII'>CHAPTER XLII.</a><br /> + +<br />A runaway horse—Discussion with a driver—A modest breakfast—A +convoy of exiles—Hotels for the exiles—Charity to the +unfortunate—Their rate of travel—An encounter at night—No whips in +the land of horses—Russian drivers and their horses—Niagara in +Siberia—Eggs by the dizaine—Caught in a storm—A beautiful +night—Arrival at Tomsk—An obliging landlord—A crammed +sleigh—Visiting the governor—Description of Tomsk—A steamboat line +to Tumen—Schools in Siberia</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLIII'>CHAPTER XLIII.</a><br /> + +<br />A frozen river—On the road to Barnaool—An unpleasant night—Posts at +the road side—Very high wind—A Russian bouran—A poor hotel—Greeted +with American music—The gold mines of the Altai mountains—Survey of +the mining-district—General management of the business—The museum at +Barnaool—The imperial zavod—Reducing the ores—Government tax on +mines—A strange coincidence</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLIV'>CHAPTER XLIV.</a><br /> + +<br />Society at Barnaool—A native coachman—An Asiatic eagle—The +Kirghese—The original Tartars—Russian diplomacy among the +natives—Advance of civilization—Railway building in Central +Asia—Product of the Kirghese country—Fairs in Siberia—Caravans from +Bokhara—An adventure among the natives—Capture of a native prince—A +love story and an elopement—A pursuit, fight, and tragic end of the +journey</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLV'>CHAPTER XLV.</a><br /> + +<br />Interview with a Persian officer—A slow conversation—Seven years of +captivity—A scientific explorer—Relics of past ages—An Asiatic +dinner—Cossack dances—Tossed up as a mark of honor—Trotting horses +in Siberia—Washing a paper collar—On the Baraba steppe—A +long-ride—A walking ice statue—Traveling by private +teams—Excitement of a race—How to secure honesty in a public +solicitor—Prescription for rheumatism</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLVI'>CHAPTER XLVI.</a><br /> + +<br />A monotonous country—Advantages of winter travel—Fertility of the +steppe—Rules for the haying season—Breakfasting on nothing—A +Siberian apple—Delays in changing horses—Universal tea +drinking—Tartars on the steppe—Siberian villages—Mode of spinning +in Russia—An unsuccessful conspiracy—How a revolt was organized—A +conspirator flogged to death—The city of Tobolsk—The story of +Elizabeth—The conquest of Siberia—Yermak and his career</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLVII'>CHAPTER XLVII.</a><br /> + +<br />Another snow storm—Wolves in sight—Unwelcome visitors—Going on a +wolf chase—An unlucky pig—Hunting at night—A hungry pack—Wolves in +every direction—The pursuers and the pursued—A dangerous turn in the +road—A driver lost and devoured—A narrow escape—Forest guards +against bears and wolves—A courageous horse—The story of David +Crockett</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLVIII'>CHAPTER XLVIII.</a><br /> + +<br />Thermometer very low—Inconvenience of a long beard—Fur clothing in +abundance—Natural thermometers—Rubbing a freezing nose—A beautiful +night on the steppe—Siberian twilights—Thick coat for horses—The +city of Tumen—Magnificent distances—Manufacture of carpets—A +lucrative monopoly—Arrival at Ekaterineburg—Christmas festivities +—Manufactures at Ekaterineburg—- The Granilnoi Fabric—Russian iron +and where it comes from—The Demidoff family—A large piece of +malachite—An emperor as an honest miner</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_XLIX'>CHAPTER XLIX.</a><br /> + +<br />Among the stone workers—A bewildering collection—Visit to a private +“Fabric”—The mode of stone cutting—Crossing the mountains—Boundary +between Europe and Asia—Standing in two continents at once—Entering +Europe by the back door—In the valley of the Kama—Touching appeal by +a beggar—The great fair at Irbit—An improved road—A city of +thieves—Tanning in Russia—Evidence of European +civilization—Perm—Pleasures of sleigh riding—The road fever—The +Emperor Nicholas and a courier—A Russian sleighing song</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_L'>CHAPTER L.</a><br /> + +<br />Among the Votiaks—Malmouish—Advice to a traveler—Dress and habits +of the Tartars—Tartar villages and mosques—A long night—Overturned +and stopped—Arrival at Kazan—New Year’s festivities—Russian +soldiers on parade—Military spirit of the Romanoff family—Anecdote +of the Grand Duke Michel—The conquest of Kazan—An evening in a +ball-room—Enterprise of Tartar peddlers—Manufactures and schools—A +police secret—The police in Russia</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_LI'>CHAPTER LI.</a><br /> + +<br />Leaving Kazan—A Russian companion—Conversation with a phrase book—A +sloshy street—Steamboats frozen in the ice—Navigation of the +Volga—The Cheramess—Pity the unfortunate—A road on the +ice—Merchandise going Westward—Villages along the Volga—A baptism +through the ice—Religion in Russia—Toleration and tyranny—The +Catholics in Poland—The Old Believers—The Skoptsi, or +mutilators—Devotional character of the Russian peasantry—Diminishing +the priestly power—Church and state—End of a long sleigh ride—Nijne +Novgorod—At the wrong hotel—Historical monuments—Entertained by the +police</p> +<p class='em2'></p> + +<p><a href='#CHAPTER_LII'>CHAPTER LII.</a><br /> + +<br />Starting for Moscow—Jackdaws and pigeons—At a Russian railway +station—The group in waiting—The luxurious ride—A French governess +and a box of <i>bon-bons</i>—Cigarettes and tea—Halting at +Vladimir—Moscow through the frost—Trakteers—The Kremlin of +Moscow—Objects of interest—The great bell—The memorial +cannon—Treasures of the Kremlin—Wonderful churches of Moscow—The +Kitai Gorod—The public market—Imperial Theatre and Foundling +Hospital—By rail to St. Petersburg—Encountering an old friend</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_I'></a><h2>CHAPTER I.</h2></div> + +<p>It is said that an old sailor looking at the first ocean steamer, +exclaimed, “There’s an end to seamanship.” More correctly he might +have predicted the end of the romance of ocean travel. Steam abridges +time and space to such a degree that the world grows rapidly prosaic. +Countries once distant and little known are at this day near and +familiar. Railways on land and steamships on the ocean, will transport +us, at frequent and regular intervals, around the entire globe. From +New York to San Francisco and thence to our antipodes in Japan and +China, one may travel in defiance of propitious breezes formerly so +essential to an ocean voyage. The same untiring power that bears us +thither will bring us home again by way of Suez and Gibraltar to any +desired port on the Atlantic coast. Scarcely more than a hundred days +will be required for such a voyage, a dozen changes of conveyance and +a land travel of less than a single week.</p> + +<p>The tour of the world thus performed might be found monotonous. Its +most salient features beyond the overland journey from the Atlantic to +the Pacific, would be the study of the ocean in breeze or gale or +storm, a knowledge of steamship life, and a revelation of the +peculiarities of men and women when cribbed, cabined, and confined in +a floating prison. Next to matrimony there is nothing better than a +few months at sea for developing the realities of human character in +either sex. I have sometimes fancied that the Greek temple over whose +door “Know thyself” was written, was really the passage office of some +Black Ball clipper line of ancient days. Man is generally desirous of +the company of his fellow man or woman, but on a long sea voyage he is +in danger of having too much of it. He has the alternative of shutting +himself in his room and appearing only at meal times, but as solitude +has few charms, and cabins are badly ventilated, seclusion is +accompanied by <i>ennui</i> and headache in about equal proportions.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm019-1.gif' id='sm019-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHARACTER DEVELOPED.</p> +</div> + + +<p>Wishing to make a journey round the world, I did not look favorably +upon the ocean route. The proportions of water and land were much like +the relative quantities of sack and bread in Falstaff’s hotel bill. +Whether on the Atlantic or the Pacific, the Indian, or the Arctic, the +appearance of Ocean’s blue expanse is very much the same. It is water +and sky in one place, and sky and water in another. You may vary the +monotony by seeing ships or shipping seas, but such occurrences are +not peculiar to any one ocean. Desiring a reasonable amount of land +travel, I selected the route that included Asiatic and European +Russia. My passport properly endorsed at the Russian embassy, +authorized me to enter the empire by the way of the Amoor river.</p> + +<p>A few days before the time fixed for my departure, I visited a Wall +street banking house, and asked if I could obtain a letter of credit +to be used in foreign travel.</p> + +<p>“Certainly sir,” was the response.</p> + +<p>“Will it be available in Asia?”</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir. You can use it in China, India, or Australia, at your +pleasure.” “Can I use it in Irkutsk?”</p> + +<p>“Where, sir?”</p> + +<p>“In Irkutsk.”</p> + +<p>“Really, I can’t say; what <i>is</i> Irkutsk?”</p> + +<p>“It is the capital of Eastern Siberia.”</p> + +<p>The person with whom I conversed, changed from gay to grave, and from +lively to severe. With calm dignity he remarked, “I am unable to say, +if our letters can be used at the place you mention. They are good all +over the civilized world, but I don’t know anything about Irkutsk. +Never heard of the place before.”</p> + +<p>I bowed myself out of the establishment, with a fresh conviction of +the unknown character of the country whither I was bound. I obtained a +letter of credit at the opposition shop, but without a guarantee of +its availability in Northern Asia.</p> + +<p>In a foggy atmosphere on the morning of March 21, 1866, I rode through +muddy streets to the dock of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. There +was a large party to see us off, the passengers having about three +times their number of friends. There were tears, kisses, embraces, +choking sighs, which ne’er might be repeated; blessings and +benedictions among the serious many, and gleeful words of farewell +among the hilarious few. One party of half a dozen became merry over +too much champagne, and when the steward’s bell sounded its warning, +there was confusion on the subject of identity. One stout gentleman +who protested that he <i>would</i> go to sea, was led ashore much against +his will.</p> + +<p>After leaving the dock, I found my cabin room-mate a gaunt, +sallow-visaged person, who seemed perfectly at home on a steamer. On +my mentioning the subject of sea-sickness, he eyed me curiously and +then ventured an opinion.</p> + +<p>“I see,” said he, “you are of bilious temperament and will be very +ill. As for myself, I have been a dozen times over the route and am +rarely affected by the ship’s motion.”</p> + +<p>Then he gave me some kind advice touching my conduct when I should +feel the symptoms of approaching <i>mal du mer</i>. I thanked him and +sought the deck. An hour after we passed Sandy Hook, my new +acquaintance succumbed to the evils that afflict landsmen who go down +to the sea in ships. Without any qualm of stomach or conscience, I +returned the advice he had proffered me. I did not suffer a moment +from the marine malady during that voyage, or any subsequent one. +<a name='FNanchor_A_1'></a><a href='#Footnote_A_1'><sup>[A]</sup></a></p> + +<div><a name='Footnote_A_1'></a><a href='#FNanchor_A_1'>[A]</a></div> +<div class='note'><p> A few years ago a friend gave me a prescription which he +said would prevent sea-sickness. I present it here as he wrote it. +</p><p> +“The night before going to sea, I take a blue pill (5 to 10 grains) in +order to carry the bile from the liver into the stomach. When I rise +on the following morning, a dose of citrate of magnesia or some +kindred substance finishes my preparation. I take my breakfast and all +other meals afterward as if nothing had happened.” +</p><p> +I have used this prescription in my own case with success, and have +known it to benefit others.</p></div> + +<p>The voyage from New York to San Francisco has been so often ‘done’ and +is so well watered, that I shall not describe it in detail. Most of +the passengers on the steamer were old Californians and assisted in +endeavoring to make the time pass pleasantly. There was plenty of +whist-playing, story telling, reading, singing, flirtation, and a very +large amount of sleeping. So far as I knew, nobody quarreled or +manifested any disposition to be riotous. There was one passenger, a +heavy, burly Englishman, whose sole occupation was in drinking “arf +and arf.” He took it on rising, then another drink before breakfast, +then another between Iris steak and his buttered roll, and so on every +half hour until midnight, when he swallowed a double dose and went to +bed. He had a large quantity in care of the baggage master, and every +day or two he would get up a few dozen pint bottles of pale ale and an +equal quantity of porter. He emptied a bottle of each into a pitcher +and swallowed the whole as easily as an ordinary man would take down a +dose of peppermint. The empty bottles were thrown overboard, and the +captain said that if this man were a frequent passenger there would be +danger of a reef of bottles in the ocean all the way from New York to +Aspinwall. I never saw his equal for swallowing malt liquors. To quote +from Shakspeare, with a slight alteration:</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>“He was a man, take him for half and half,<br /></span> +<span>I ne’er shall look upon his like again.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg022-1.gif' id='lg022-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>ASPINWALL TO PANAMA.</p> +</div> + +<p>We had six hours at Aspinwall, a city that could be done in fifteen +minutes, but were allowed no time on shore at Panama. It was late at +night when we left the latter port. The waters were beautifully +phosphorescent, and when disturbed by our motion they flashed and +glittered like a river of stars. Looking over the stern one could half +imagine our track a path of fire, and the bay, ruffled by a gentle +breeze, a waving sheet of light. The Pacific did not belie its name. +More than half the way to San Francisco we steamed as calmly and with +as little motion as upon a narrow lake. Sometimes there was no +sensation to indicate we were moving at all.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg023-1.gif' id='lg023-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>SLIGHTLY MONOTONOUS.</p> +</div> + +<p>Even varied by glimpses of the Mexican coast, the occasional +appearance of a whale with its column of water thrown high into the +air, and the sportive action of schools of porpoises which is +constantly met with, the passage was slightly monotonous. On the +twenty-third day from New York we ended the voyage at San Francisco.</p> + +<p>On arriving in California I was surprised at the number of old +acquaintances I encountered. When leaving New York I could think of +only two or three persons I knew in San Francisco, but I met at least +a dozen before being on shore twelve hours. Through these individuals, +I became known to many others, by a rapidity of introduction almost +bewildering. Californians are among the most genial and hospitable +people in America, and there is no part of our republic where a +stranger receives a kinder and more cordial greeting. There is no +Eastern iciness of manner, or dignified indifference at San Francisco. +Residents of the Pacific coast have told me that when visiting their +old homes they feel as if dropped into a refrigerator. After learning +the customs of the Occident, one can fully appreciate the sensations +of a returned Californian.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg024-1.gif' id='lg024-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>MONTGOMERY STREET IN HOLIDAY DRESS.</p> +</div> + +<p>Montgomery street, the great avenue of San Francisco, is not surpassed +any where on the continent in the variety of physiognomy it presents. +There are men from all parts of America, and there is no lack of +European representatives. China has many delegates, and Japan also +claims a place. There are merchants of all grades and conditions, and +professional and unprofessional men of every variety, with a long +array of miscellaneous characters. Commerce, mining, agriculture, and +manufactures, are all represented. At the wharves there are ships of +all nations. A traveler would find little difficulty, if he so willed +it, in sailing away to Greenland’s icy mountains or India’s coral +strand. The cosmopolitan character of San Francisco is the first thing +that impresses a visitor. Almost from one stand-point he may see the +church, the synagogue, and the pagoda. The mosque is by no means +impossible in the future.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg025-1.gif' id='lg025-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>SAN FRANCISCO, 1848.</p> +</div> + +<p>In 1848, San Francisco was a village of little importance. The city +commenced in ’49, and fifteen years later it claimed a population of a +hundred and twenty thousand. +<a name='FNanchor_B_2'></a><a href='#Footnote_B_2'><sup>[B]</sup></a> + No one who looks at this city, would +suppose it still in its minority. The architecture is substantial and +elegant; the hotels vie with those of New York in expense and luxury; +the streets present both good and bad pavements and are well +gridironed with railways; houses, stores, shops, wharves, all indicate +a permanent and prosperous community. There are gas-works and +foundries and factories, as in older communities. There are the +Mission Mills, making the warmest blankets in the world, from the wool +of the California sheep. There are the fruit and market gardens whose +products have a Brobdignagian character. There are the immense stores +of wine from California vineyards that are already competing with +those of France and Germany. There are—I may as well stop now, since +I cannot tell half the story in the limits of this chapter.</p> + +<div><a name='Footnote_B_2'></a><a href='#FNanchor_B_2'>[B]</a></div> +<div class='note'><p> I made many notes with a view to publishing two or three +chapters upon California. I have relinquished this design, partly on +account of the un-Siberian character of the Golden State, and partly +because much that I had written is covered by the excellent book +“Beyond the Mississippi,” by Albert D. Richardson, my friend and +associate for several years. The particulars of his death by +assassination are familiar to many readers.</p></div> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg026-1.gif' id='lg026-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHINESE DINNER.</p> +</div> + +<p>During my stay in California, I visited the principal gold, copper, +and quicksilver mines in the state, not omitting the famous or +infamous Mariposa tract. In company with Mr. Burlingame and General +Van Valkenburg, our ministers to China and Japan, I made an excursion +to the Yosemite Valley, and the Big Tree Grove. With the same +gentlemen I went over the then completed portion of the railway which +now unites the Atlantic with the Pacific coast, and attended the +banquet given by the Chinese merchants of San Francisco to the +ambassadors on the eve of their departure. A Chinese dinner, served +with Chinese customs;—it was a prelude to the Asiatic life toward +which my journey led me.</p> + +<p>I arrived in San Francisco on the thirteenth of April and expected to +sail for Asia within a month. One thing after another delayed us, +until we began to fear that we should never get away. For more than +six weeks the time of departure was kept a few days ahead and +regularly postponed. First, happened the failure of a contractor; +next, the non-arrival of a ship; next, the purchase of supplies; and +so on through a long list of hindrances. In the beginning I was vexed, +but soon learned complacency and gave myself no uneasiness. Patience +is an admirable quality in mankind, and can be very well practiced +when, one is waiting for a ship to go to sea.</p> + +<p>On the twenty-third of June we were notified to be on board at five +o’clock in the evening, and to send heavy baggage before that hour. +The vessel which was to receive us, lay two or three hundred yards +from the wharf, in order to prevent the possible desertion of the +crew. Punctual to the hour, I left the hotel and drove to the place of +embarkation. My trunk, valise, and sundry boxes had gone in the +forenoon, so that my only remaining effects were a satchel, a bundle +of newspapers, a dog, and a bouquet. The weight of these combined +articles was of little consequence, but I positively declare that I +never handled a more inconvenient lot of baggage. While I was +descending a perpendicular ladder to a small boat, some one abruptly +asked if that lot of baggage had been cleared at the custom house. +Think of walking through a custom house with my portable property! +Happily the question did not come from an official.</p> + +<p>It required at least an hour to get everything in readiness after we +were on board. Then followed the leave taking of friends who had come +to see us off and utter their wishes for a prosperous voyage and safe +return. The anchor rose slowly from the muddy bottom; steam was put +upon the engines, and the propeller whirling in the water, set us in +motion. The gang-way steps were raised and the rail severed our +connection with America.</p> + +<p>It was night as we glided past the hills of San Francisco, spangled +with a thousand lights, and left them growing fainter in the distance. +Steaming through the Golden Gate we were soon on the open Pacific +commencing a voyage of nearly four thousand miles. We felt the motion +of the waves and became fully aware that we were at sea. The shore +grew indistinct and then disappeared; the last visible objects being +the lights at the entrance of the bay. Gradually their rays grew dim, +and when daylight came, there were only sky and water around us.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>“Far upon the unknown deep,<br /></span> +<span>With the billows circling round<br /></span> +<span>Where the tireless sea-birds sweep;<br /></span> +<span>Outward bound.<br /></span> +</div><div class='stanza'> +<span>“Nothing but a speck we seem,<br /></span> +<span>In the waste of waters round,<br /></span> +<span>Floating, floating like a dream;<br /></span> +<span>Outward bound.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<hr /> +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_II'></a><h2>CHAPTER II.</h2></div> + + +<p>The G.S. Wright, on which we were embarked, was a screw steamer of two +hundred tons burthen, a sort of pocket edition of the new boats of the +Cunard line. She carried the flag and the person of Colonel Charles S. +Bulkley, Engineer in Chief of the Russo-American Telegraph Expedition. +She could sail or steam at the pleasure of her captain, provided +circumstances were favorable. Compared with ocean steamers in general, +she was a very small affair and displayed a great deal of activity. +She could roll or pitch to a disagreeable extent, and continued her +motion night and day, I often wished the eight-hour labor system +applied to her, but my wishing was of no use.</p> + +<p>Besides Colonel Bulkley, the party in the cabin consisted of Captain +Patterson, Mr. Covert, Mr. Anossoff, and myself. Mr. Covert was the +engineer of the steamer, and amused us at times with accounts of his +captivity on the Alabama after the destruction of the Hatteras. +Captain Patterson was an ancient mariner who had sailed the stormy +seas from his boyhood, beginning on a whale ship and working his way +from the fore-castle to the quarter deck. Mr. Anossoff was a Russian +gentleman who joined us at San Francisco, in the capacity of +commissioner from his government to the Telegraph Company. For our +quintette there was a cabin six feet by twelve, and each person had a +sleeping room to himself.</p> + +<p>Colonel Bulkley planned the cabin of the Wright, and I shall always +consider it a misfortune that the Engineer-in-Chief was only five feet +seven in his boots rather than six feet and over like myself. The +cabin roof was high enough for the colonel, but too low for me. Under +the skylight was the only place below deck where I could stand erect. +The sleeping rooms were too short for me, and before I could lie, at +full length in my berth, it was necessary to pull away a partition +near my head. The space thus gained was taken from a closet containing +a few trifles, such as jugs of whiskey, and cans of powder. +Fortunately no fire reached the combustibles at any time, or this book +might not have appeared.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg030-1.gif' id='lg030-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>OVER SIX FEET.</p> +</div> + +<p>There was a forward cabin occupied by the chief clerk, the +draughtsman, the interpreter, and the artist of the expedition, with +the first and second officers of the vessel. Sailors, firemen, cook +and cabin boys all included, there were forty-five persons on board. +Everybody in the complement being masculine, we did not have a single +flirtation during the voyage.</p> + +<p>I never sailed on a more active ship than the Wright. In ordinary +seas, walking was a matter of difficulty, and when the wind freshened +to a gale locomotion ceased to be a pastime. Frequently I wedged +myself into my berth with books and cigar boxes. On the first day out, +my dog (for I traveled with a dog) was utterly bewildered, and +evidently thought himself where he did not belong. After falling a +dozen times upon his side, he succeeded in learning to keep his feet. +The carpenter gave him a box for a sleeping room, but the space was so +large that, his body did not fill it. On the second day from port he +took the bit of carpet that formed his bed and used it as a wedge to +keep him in position. From, that time he had no trouble, though he was +not fairly on his sea legs for nearly a week.</p> + +<p>Sometimes at dinner our soup poured into our laps and seemed engaged +in reconstructing the laws of gravitation. The table furniture was +very uneasy, and it was no uncommon occurrence for a tea cup or a +tumbler to jump from its proper place and turn a somersault before +stopping. We had no severe storm on the voyage, though constantly in +expectation of one.</p> + +<p>In 1865 the Wright experienced heavy gales with little interruption +for twelve days. She lost her chimney with part of her sails, and lay +for sixteen hours in the trough of the sea. The waves broke over her +without hindrance and drenched every part of the ship. Covert gave an +amusing account of the breaking of a box of soap one night during the +storm. In the morning the cabin, with all it contained, was thoroughly +lathered, as if preparing for a colossal shave.</p> + +<p>Half way across the ocean we were followed by sea-birds that, +curiously enough, were always thickest at meal times. Gulls kept with +us the first two days and then disappeared, their places being taken +by boobies. The gull is a pretty and graceful bird, somewhat +resembling the pigeon in shape and agility. The booby has a little +resemblance to the duck, but his bill is sharp pointed and curved like +a hawk’s. Beechey and one or two others speak of encountering the +Albatross in the North Pacific, but their statements are disputed by +mariners of the present day. The Albatross is peculiar to the south as +the gull to the north. Gulls and boobies dart into the water when any +thing is thrown overboard, and show great dexterity in catching +whatever is edible. At night they are said to sleep on the waves, and +occasionally we disturbed them at their rest.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg032-1.gif' id='lg032-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>STEAMSHIP WRIGHT IN A STORM.</p> +</div> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm033-1.gif' id='sm033-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A SEA-SICK BOOBY.</p> +</div> + +<p>One day we caught a booby by means of a hook and line, and found him +unable to fly from the deck. It is said that nearly all sea-birds can +rise only from the water. We detained our prize long enough to attach +a medal to his neck and send him away with our date, location, and +name. If kept an hour or more on the deck of a ship these birds become +seasick, and manifest their illness just as an able-bodied landsman, +exhibits an attack of marine malady. Strange they should be so +affected when they are all their lives riding over the tossing waves.</p> + +<p>About thirty miles from San Francisco are the Farralone Islands, a +favorite resort of sea-birds. There they assemble in immense numbers, +particularly at the commencement of their breeding season.</p> + +<p>Parties go from San Francisco to gather sea-birds eggs at these +islands, and for some weeks they supply the market. These eggs are +largely used in pastry, omelettes, and other things, where their +character can be disguised, but they are far inferior to hens’ eggs +for ordinary uses.</p> + +<p>There were no islands in any part of our course, and we found but a +single shoal marked on the chart. We passed far to the north of the +newly discovered Brooks Island, and kept southward of the Aleutian +chain. Since my return to America I have read the account of a curious +discovery on an island of the North Pacific. In 1816, the ship Canton, +belonging to the East India Company, sailed from Sitka and was +supposed to have foundered at sea. Nothing was heard of her until +1867, when a portion of her wreck was found upon a coral island of the +Sybille group. The remaining timbers were in excellent preservation, +and the place where the crew had encamped was readily discernible. The +frame of the main hatchway had been cast up whole, and a large tree +was growing through it. The quarter board bearing the word “Canton,” +lay near it, and revealed the name of the lost ship. No writing or +inscription to reveal the fate of her crew, could be found anywhere.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm034-1.gif' id='sm034-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>WRECK OF THE SHIP CANTON.</p> +</div> + +<p>On Friday, July thirteenth, we crossed the meridian of 180° from +London, or half around the world. We dropped a day from our reckoning +according to the marine custom, and appeared in our Sunday dress on +the morrow. Had we been sailing eastward, a day would have been added +to our calendar. A naval officer once told me that he sailed eastward +over this meridian on Sunday. On the following morning the chaplain +was surprised to receive orders to hold divine service. He obeyed +promptly, but could not understand the situation. With a puzzled look +he said to an officer—</p> + +<p>“This part of the ocean must be better than any other or we would not +have Sunday so often.”</p> + +<p>Sir Francis Drake, who sailed around the world in the time of Queen +Elizabeth, did not observe this rule of the navigator, and found on +reaching England that he had a day too much. In the Marquesas Islands +the early missionaries who came from the Indies made the mistake of +keeping Sunday on Saturday. Their followers preserve this chronology, +while later converts have the correct one. The result is, there are +two Sabbaths among the Christian inhabitants of the cannibal islands. +The boy who desired two Sundays a week in order to have more resting +time, might be accommodated by becoming a Marquesas colonist.</p> + +<p>On the day we crossed this meridian we were three hundred miles from +the nearest Aleutian Islands, and about eight hundred from Kamchatka.</p> + +<p>The boobies continued around us, but were less numerous than a week or +ten days earlier. If they had any trouble with their reckoning, I did +not ascertain it. A day later we saw three “fur seal” playing happily +in the water. We hailed the first and asked his longitude, but he made +no reply. I never knew before that the seal ventured so far from land. +Yet his movements are as carefully governed as those of the sea-birds, +and though many days in the open water he never forgets the direct +course to his favorite haunts. How marvelous the instinct that guides +with unerring certainty over the trackless waters!</p> + +<p>A few ducks made their appearance and manifested a feeling of +nostalgia. Mother Carey’s chickens, little birds resembling swallows, +began to flit around us, skimming closely along the waves. There is a +fiction among the sailors that nobody ever saw one of these birds +alight or found its nest. Whoever harms one is certain to bring +misfortune upon himself and possibly his companions. A prudent +traveler would be careful not to offend this or any other nautical +superstition. In case of subsequent danger the sailors might remember +his misdeed and leave him to make his own rescue.</p> + +<p>Nearing the Asiatic coast we saw many whales. One afternoon, about +cigar time, a huge fellow appeared half a mile distant. His blowing +sounded like the exhaust of a western steamboat, and sent up a +respectable fountain of spray. Covert pronounced him a high pressure +affair, with horizontal engines and carrying ninety pounds to the +inch.</p> + +<p>After sporting awhile in the misty distance, the whale came near us. +It was almost calm and we could see him without glasses. He rose and +disappeared at intervals of a minute, and as he moved along he rippled +the surface like a subsoil plough on a gigantic scale. After ten or +twelve small dives, he threw his tail in air and went down for ten +minutes or more. When he reappeared he was two or three hundred yards +from his diving place.</p> + +<p>Once he disappeared in this way and came up within ten feet of our +bows. Had he risen beneath us the shock would have been severe for +both ship and whale. After this manoeuvre he went leisurely around us, +keeping about a hundred yards away.</p> + +<p>“He is working his engines on the slow bell,” said our engineer, “and +keeps his helm hard-a-port.”</p> + +<p>We brought out our rifles to try this new game, though the practice +was as much a trial of skill as the traditional ‘barn at ten paces.’ +Several shots were fired, but I did not see any thing drop. The sport +was amusing to all concerned; at any rate the whale didn’t seem to +mind it, and we were delighted at the fun. When his survey was +finished he braced his helm to starboard, opened his throttle valves +and went away to windward.</p> + +<p>We estimated his length at a hundred and twenty feet, and thought he +might register ‘A 1,’ at the proper office. Captain Patterson called +him a ‘bow head,’ good for a hundred barrels of oil and a large +quantity of bone. The Colonel proposed engaging him to tow us into +port. Covert wished his blubber piled in our coal bunkers; the artist +sketched him, and the draughtsman thought of putting him on a +Mercator’s projection. For my part I have written the little I know of +his life and experiences, but it is very little. I cannot even say +where he lodges, whose hats he wears, when his notes fall due, or +whether he ever took a cobbler or the whooping cough. Of course this +incident led to stories concerning whales. Captain Patterson told +about the destruction of the ship Essex by a sperm whale thirty or +more years ago. The Colonel described the whale fishery as practiced +by the Kamchadales and Aleutians. These natives have harpoons with +short lines to which they attach bladders or skin bags filled with +air. A great many boats surround a whale and stick him with as many +harpoons as possible. If successful, they will so encumber him that +his strength is not equal to the buoyancy of the bladders, and in this +condition he is finished with a lance. A great feast is sure to follow +his capture, and every interested native indulges in whale-steak to +his stomach’s content.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg037-1.gif' id='lg037-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>ALEUTIANS CATCHING WHALES.</p> +</div> + +<p>The day before we came in sight of land, my dog repeatedly placed his +fore feet upon the rail and sniffed the wind blowing from the coast. +His inhalations were long and earnest, like those of a tobacco smoking +Comanche. In her previous voyage the Wright carried a mastiff +answering to the name of Rover. The colonel said that whenever they +approached land, though long before it was in sight, Rover would put +his paws on the bulwarks and direct his nose toward the shore. His +demonstrations were invariably accurate, and showed him to possess the +instinct of a pilot, whatever his lack of training. He did not enjoy +the ocean and was always delighted to see land.</p> + +<p>In 1865 an Esquimaux dog was domiciled on the barque Golden Gate, on +her voyage from Norton Sound to Kamchatka. He ran in all parts of the +vessel, and made himself agreeable to every one on board. At +Petropavlovsk a Kamchadale dog became a passenger for San Francisco. +Immediately on being loosed he took possession aft and drove the +Esquimaux forward. During the whole passage he retained his place on +the quarter deck and in the cabin. Occasionally he went forward for a +promenade, but he never allowed the other dog to go abaft the +mainmast. The Esquimaux endeavored to establish amicable relations, +but the Kamchadale rejected all friendly overtures.</p> + +<p>I heard of a dog on one of the Honolulu packets that took his turn at +duty with the regularity of a sailor, coming on deck when his watch +was called and retiring with it to the forecastle. When the sails +flapped from any cause and the clouds indicated a sudden shower, the +dog gave warning with a bark—on the sea. I ventured to ask my +informant if the animal stood the dog watch, but the question did not +receive a definite answer.</p> + +<p>What a wonderful thing is the science of navigation. One measures the +sun’s height at meridian; looks at a chronometer; consults a book of +mystical figures; makes a little slate work like a school-boy’s +problem; and he knows his position at sea. Twelve o’clock, if there be +neither fog nor cloud, is the most important hour of a nautical day. A +few minutes before noon the captain is on deck with his quadrant. The +first officer is similarly provided, as he is supposed to keep a log +and practice-book of his own. Ambitious students of navigation are +sure to appear at that time. On the Wright we turned out four +instruments, with twice as many hands to hold them. A minute before +twelve, <i>conticuere omnes</i>.</p> + +<p>“Eight bells.”</p> + +<p>“Eight bells, sir.”</p> + +<p>The four instruments are briefly fixed on the sun and the horizon, the +readings of the scale are noted, and the quartette descend to the +practice of mathematics. A few minutes later we have the result.</p> + +<p>“Latitude 52° 8′ North, Longitude 161° 14′ East. Distance in last +twenty-four hours two hundred forty-six miles.”</p> + +<p>The chart is unrolled, and a few measurements with dividers, rule and +pencil, end in the registry of our exact position. Unlike the +countryman on Broadway or a doubting politician the day before +election, we do know where we are. The compass, the chronometer, the +quadrant; what would be the watery world without them!</p> + +<p>On the twenty-fourth of July we were just a month at sea. In all that +time we had spoken no ship nor had any glimpse of land, unless I +except a trifle in a flower pot. The captain made his reckoning at +noon, and added to the reading—</p> + +<p>“Seventy-five miles from the entrance of Avatcha Bay. We ought to see +land before sunset.”</p> + +<p>About four in the afternoon we discovered the coast just where the +captain said we should find it. The mountains that serve to guide one +toward Avatcha Bay were exactly in the direction marked on our chart. +To all appearances we were not a furlong from our estimated position. +How easily may the navigator’s art appear like magic to the ignorant +and superstitious.</p> + +<p>The breeze was light, and we stood in very slowly toward the shore. By +sunset we could see the full outline of the coast of Kamchatka for a +distance of fifty or sixty miles. The general coast line formed the +concavity of a small arc of a circle. As it was too late to enter +before dark, and we did not expect the light would be burning, we +furled all our sails and lay to until morning.</p> + +<p>By daybreak we were under steam, and at five o’clock I came on deck to +make my first acquaintance with Asia. We were about twenty miles from +the shore, and the general appearance of the land reminded me of the +Rocky Mountains from Denver or the Sierra Nevadas from the vicinity of +Stockton. On the north of the horizon was a group of four or five +mountains, while directly in front there were three separate peaks, of +which one was volcanic. Most of these mountains were conical and +sharp, and although it was July, nearly every summit was covered with +snow. Between and among these high peaks there were many smaller +mountains, but no less steep and pointed. As one sees it from, the +ocean, Kamchatka appears more like a desolate than a habitable +country.</p> + +<p>It requires very good eyesight to discover the entrance of Avatcha Bay +at a distance of eight or ten miles, but the landmarks are of such +excellent character that one can approach without hesitation. The +passage is more than a mile wide. Guarding it on the right is a hill +nearly three hundred feet high, and standing almost perpendicular +above the water. At the left is a rock of lesser height, terminating a +tongue or ridge of land. On the hill is a light-house and signal +station with a flag staff. Formerly the light was only exhibited when +a ship was expected or seen, but in 1866, orders were given for its +maintainance every night during the summer months.</p> + +<p>Years ago, on the coast of New Hampshire, a man from the interior was +appointed light keeper. The day he assumed his position was his first +on the sea-shore. Very soon there were complaints that his lights did +not burn after midnight. On being called to account by his superior, +he explained—</p> + +<p>“Well, I thought all the ships ought to be in by midnight, and I +wanted to save the ile.”</p> + + + +<hr /> +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_III'></a><h2>CHAPTER III.</h2></div> + + +<p>As one leaves the Pacific and enters Avatcha Bay he passes high rocks +and cliffs, washed at their base by the waves. The loud-sounding ocean +working steadily against the solid walls, has worn caverns and dark +passages, haunted by thousands of screaming and fluttering sea-birds. +The bay is circular and about twenty miles in diameter; except at the +place of entrance it is enclosed with hills and mountains that give it +the appearance of a highland lake. All over it there is excellent +anchorage for ships of every class, while around its sides are several +little harbors, like miniature copies of the bay.</p> + +<p>At Petropavlovsk we hoped to find the Russian ship of war, Variag, and +the barque Clara Bell, which sailed from San Francisco six weeks +before us. As we entered the bay, all eyes were turned toward the +little harbor. “There is the Russian,” said three or four voices at +once, as the tall masts aird wide spars of a corvette came in sight. +“The Clara Bell, the Clara Bell—no, it’s a brig,” was our exclamation +at the appearance of a vessel behind the Variag.</p> + +<p>“There’s another, a barque certainly,—no, it’s a brig, too,” uttered +the colonel with an emphasis of disgust. Evidently his barque was on +the sea.</p> + +<p>Rounding the shoal we moved toward the fort, the Russian corvette +greeting us with “Hail Columbia” out of compliment to our nationality. +We carried the American flag at the quarter and the Russian naval +ensign at the fore as a courtesy to the ship that awaited us. As we +cast anchor just outside the little inner harbor, the Russian band +continued playing Hail Columbia, but our engineer played the mischief +with the music by letting off steam. As soon as we were at rest a boat +from the corvette touched our side, and a subordinate officer +announced that his captain would speedily visit us. Very soon came the +Captain of The Port or Collector of Customs, and after him the +American merchants residing in the town. Our gangway which we closed +at San Francisco was now opened, and we once more communicated with +the world.</p> + +<p>Petropavlovsk (Port of Saints Peter and Paul) is situated in lat. 53° +1′ North, long. 158° 43′ East, and is the principal place in +Kamchatka. It stands on the side of a hill sloping into the northern +shore of Avatcha Bay, or rather into a little harbor opening into the +bay. Fronting this harbor is a long peninsula that hides the town from +all parts of the bay except those near the sea. The harbor is well +sheltered from winds and furnishes excellent anchorage. It is divided +into an inner and an outer harbor by means of a sand spit that extends +from the main land toward the peninsula, leaving an opening about +three hundred yards in width. The inner harbor is a neat little basin +about a thousand yards in diameter and nearly circular in shape.</p> + +<p>Some of the mountains that serve as landmarks to the approaching +mariner, are visible from the town, and others can be seen by climbing +the hills in the vicinity. Wuluchinski is to the southward and not +volcanic, while Avatcha and Korianski, to the north and east, were +smoking with a dignified air, like a pair of Turks after a champagne +supper. Eruptions of these volcanoes occur every few years, and during +the most violent ones ashes and stones are thrown to a considerable +distance. Captain King witnessed an eruption of Avatcha in 1779, and +says that stones fell at Petropavlovsk, twenty-five miles away, and +the ashes covered the deck of his ship. Mr. Pierce, an old resident of +Kamchatka, gave me a graphic description of an eruption in 1861. It +was preceded by an earthquake, which overturned crockery on the +tables, and demolished several ovens. For a week or more earthquakes +of a less violent character occurred hourly.</p> + +<p>Besides the Variag we found in port the Russian brig Poorga and the +Prussian brig Danzig, the latter having an American captain, crew, +hull, masts, and rigging. Two old hulks were rotting in the mud, and +an unseaworthy schooner lay on the beach with one side turned upward +as if in agony. “There be land rats and water rats,” according to +Shakspeare. Some of the latter dwelt in this bluff-bowed schooner and +peered curiously from the crevices in her sides.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm043-1.gif' id='sm043-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>BREACH OF ETIQUETTE.</p> +</div> + +<p>The majority of our visitors made their calls very brief. After their +departure, I went on shore with Mr. Hunter, an American resident of +Petropavlovsk. In every house I visited I was pressed to take +<i>petnatzet copla</i> (fifteen drops,) the universal name there for +something stimulating. The drops might be American whisky, French +brandy, Dutch gin, or Russian vodka. David Crockett said a true +gentleman is one who turns his back while you pour whisky into your +tumbler. The etiquette of Kamchatka does not permit the host to count +the drops taken by his guest.</p> + +<p>Take a log village in the backwoods of Michigan or Minnesota, and +transport it to a quiet spot by a well sheltered harbor of +Lilliputian size. Cover the roofs of some buildings with iron, +shingles or boards from other regions. Cover the balance with thatch +of long grass, and erect chimneys that just peer above the ridge +poles. Scatter these buildings on a hillside next the water; arrange +three-fourths of them in a single street, and leave the rest to drop +wherever they like. Of course those in the higgledy-piggledy position +must be of the poorest class, but you can make a few exceptions. +Whitewash the inner walls of half the buildings, and use paper or +cloth to hide the nakedness of the other half.</p> + +<p>This will make a fair counterfeit of Petropavlovsk. Inside each house +place a brick stove or oven, four or five feet square and six feet +high. Locate this stove to present a side to each of two or three +rooms. In each side make an aperture two inches square that can be +opened or closed at will. The amount of heat to warm the rooms is +regulated by means of the apertures.</p> + +<p>Furnish the houses with plain chairs, tables, and an occasional but +rare piano. Make the doors very low and the entries narrow. Put a +picture of a saint in the principal room of every house, and adorn the +walls with a few engravings. Make a garden near each house, and let a +few miscellaneous gardens cling to the hillside and strive to climb +it. Don’t forget to build a church, or you will fail to represent a +Russian town.</p> + +<p>Petropavlovsk has no vehicle of any kind except a single hand cart. +Consequently the street is not gashed with wheel ruts.</p> + +<p>We were invited to ‘assist’ at a wedding that happened in the evening +after our arrival. The ceremony was to begin at five o’clock, and was +a double affair, two sisters being the brides. A Russian wedding +requires a master of ceremonies to look after the affair from +beginning to end. I was told it was the custom in Siberia (but not in +European Russia) for this person to pay all expenses of the wedding, +including the indispensable dinner and its fixtures. Such a position +is not to be desired by a man of limited cash, especially if the +leading characters are inclined to extravagance. Think of being the +conductor of a diamond wedding in New York or Boston, and then paying +the bills!</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm045-1.gif' id='sm045-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>UNEXPECTED HONORS.</p> +</div> + +<p>The steward of the Variag told me he was invited to conduct a wedding +shortly after his arrival at Petropavlovsk. Thinking it an honor of +which he would hereafter be proud, he accepted the invitation. Much to +his surprise on the next day he was required to pay the cost of the +entertainment.</p> + +<p>The master of ceremonies of the wedding under consideration was Mr. +Phillipeus, a Russian gentleman engaged in the fur trade. The father +of the brides was his customer, and doubtless the cost of the wedding +was made up in subsequent dealings. As the party emerged from the +house and moved toward the church, I could see that Phillipeus was the +central figure. He had a bride on each arm, and each bride was +clinging to her prospective husband. The women were in white and the +men in holiday dress.</p> + +<p>Behind the front rank were a dozen or more groomsmen and bridesmaids. +Behind these were the members of the families and the invited +relatives, so that the cortége stretched to a considerable length. +Each of the groomsmen wore a bow of colored ribbon on his left arm and +a smaller one in the button hole. The children of the families—quite +a troop of juveniles—brought up the rear.</p> + +<p>The church is of logs, like the other buildings. It is old, unpainted, +and shaped like a cross, lacking one of the arms. The doors are large +and clumsy, and the entrance is through a vestibule or hall. The roof +had been recently painted a brilliant red at the expense of the +Variag’s officers. On the inside, the church has an antiquated +appearance, but presents such an air of solidity as if inviting the +earthquakes to come and see it.</p> + +<p>There were no seats in the building, nor are there seats of any kind +in the edifices of the same character in any part of Russia. It is the +theory of the Eastern Church that all are equal before God. In His +service, no distinction is made; autocrat and subject, noble and +peasant, stand or kneel in the same manner while worshipping at His +altars.</p> + +<p>As we entered, we found the wedding party standing in the center of +the church; the spectators were grouped nearer the door, the ladies +occupying the front. With the thermometer at seventy-two, I found the +upright position a fatiguing one, and would have been glad to send for +a camp stool. Colonel Bulkley had undertaken to escort a lady, and as +he stood in a conspicuous place, his uniform buttoned to the very chin +and the perspiration pouring from his face, the ceremony appeared to +have little charm for him.</p> + +<p>The service began under the direction of two priests, each dressed in +a long robe extending to his feet, and wearing a chapeau like a +bell-crowned hat without a brim. “The short one,” said a friend near +me, pointing to a little, round, fat, oily man of God, “will get very +drunk when he has the opportunity. Watch him to-night and see how he +leaves the dinner party.”</p> + +<p>Priests of the Greek Church wear their hair very long, frequently +below the shoulders, and parted in the middle, and do not shave the +beard. Unlike those of the Catholic Church, they marry and have homes +and families, engaging in secular occupations which do not interfere +with their religious duties. During the evening after the wedding, I +was introduced to “the pope’s wife;” and learned that Russian priests +are called popes. As the only pope then familiar to my thoughts is +considered very much a bachelor, I was rather taken aback at this bit +of information. The drink-loving priest was head of a goodly sized +family, and resided in a comfortable and well furnished dwelling.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg047-1.gif' id='lg047-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RUSSIAN MARRIAGE.</p> +</div> + +<p>At the wedding there was much recitation by the priests, reading from +the ritual of the Church, swinging of censers, singing by the chorus +of male voices, chanting and intonation, and responses by the victims. +There were frequent signs of the cross with bowing or kneeling. A ring +was used, and afterwards two crowns were held over the heads of the +bride and bridegroom. The fatigue of holding these crowns was +considerable, and required that those who performed the service should +be relieved once by other bridesmen. After a time the crowns were +placed on the heads they had been held over. Wearing these crowns and +preceded by the priests, the pair walked three times round the altar +in memory of the Holy Trinity, while a portion of the service was +chanted. Then the crowns were removed and kissed by each of the +marrying pair, the bridegroom first performing the osculation. A cup +of water was held by the priest, first to the bridegroom and then to +the bride, each of whom drank a small portion. After this the first +couple retired to a little chapel and the second passed through the +ordeal. The preliminary ceremony occupied about twenty minutes, and +the same time was consumed by each couple.</p> + +<p>There is no divorce in Russia, so that the union was one for life till +death. Before the parties left the church they received +congratulations. There was much hand-shaking, and among the women +there were decorous kisses. Our party regretted that the custom of +bride kissing as practiced in America does not prevail in Kamchatka.</p> + +<p>When the affair was ended, the whole cortége returned to the house +whence it came, the children carrying pictures of the Virgin and +saints, and holding lighted candles before them. The employment of +lamps and tapers is universal in the Russian churches, the little +flame being a representation of spiritual existence and a symbol of +the continued life of the soul. The Russians have adapted this idea so +completely that there is no marriage, betrothal, consecration, or +burial, in fact no religious ceremony whatever without the use of lamp +or taper.</p> + +<p>In the house of every adherent to the orthodox Russian faith there is +a picture of the Virgin or a saint; sometimes holy pictures are in +every room of the house. I have seen them in the cabins of steamboats, +and in tents and other temporary structures. No Russian enters a +dwelling, however humble, without removing his hat, out of respect to +the holy pictures, and this custom extends to shops, hotels, in fact +to every place where people dwell or transact business. During the +earlier part of my travels in Russia, I was unaware of this custom, +and fear that I sometimes offended it. I have been told that +superstitious thieves hang veils or kerchiefs before the picture in +rooms where they depredate. Enthusiastic lovers occasionally observe +the same precaution. Only the eyes of the image need be covered, and +secrecy may be obtained by turning the picture to the wall.</p> + +<p>The evening began with a reception and congratulations to the married +couples. Then we had tea and cakes, and then came the dinner. The +party was like the African giant imported in two ships, for it was +found impossible to crowd all the guests into one house. Tables were +set in two houses and in the open yard between them.</p> + +<p>The Russians have a custom of taking a little lunch just before they +begin dinner. This lunch is upon a side table in the dining room, and +consists of cordial, spirits or bitters, with morsels of herring, +caviar, and dried meat or fish. It performs the same office as the +American cocktail, but is oftener taken, is more popular and more +respectable. After the lunch we sat down to dinner. Fish formed the +first course and soup the second. Then we had roast beef and +vegetables, followed by veal cutlets. The feast closed with cake and +jelly, and was thoroughly washed down with a dozen kinds of beverages +that cheer <i>and</i> inebriate.</p> + +<p>The fat priest was at table and took his lunch early. His first course +was a glass of something liquid, and he drank a dozen times before the +soup was brought. Early in the dinner I saw him gesturing toward me.</p> + +<p>“He wants to take a glass with you,” said some one at my side.</p> + +<p>I poured out some wine, and after a little trouble in touching glasses +we drank each other’s health.</p> + +<p>Not five minutes later he repeated his gestures. To satisfy him I +filled a glass with sherry, as there was no champagne handy at the +moment, and again went through the clinking process. As my glass was +large I put it down after sipping a few drops, but the old fellow +objected. Draining and inverting his glass, he held it as one might +suspend a rat by the tail, and motioned me to do the same. Luckily he +soon after conceived a fondness for one of the Wright’s officers, and +the twain fell to drinking. The officer, assisted by three men, went +on board late at night, and was reported attempting to wash his face +in a tar-bucket and dry it with a chain cable. About midnight the +priest was taken home on a shutter.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg050-1.gif' id='lg050-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RUSSIAN POPE AT HOME.</p> +</div> + +<p>There were toasts in a large number, with a great deal of cheering, +drinking, and smoking. About ten o’clock the dinner ended, and +arrangements were made for a dance. Dancing was not among my +accomplishments, and I retired to the ship, satisfied that on my first +day in Asia I had been treated very kindly—and very often.</p> + +<p>For two days more the wedding festivities continued, etiquette +requiring the parties to visit all who attended the dinner. On the +third day the hilarity ceased, and the happy couples were left to +enjoy the honeymoon with its promise of matrimonial bliss. May they +have many years of it.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_IV'></a><h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2></div> + + +<p>The name of Kamchatka is generally associated with snow-fields, +glaciers, frozen mountains, and ice-bound shores. Its winters are long +and severe; snow falls to a great depth, and ice attains a thickness +proportioned to the climate. But the summers, though short, are +sufficiently hot to make up for the cold of winter. Vegetation is +wonderfully rapid, the grasses, trees and plants growing as much in a +hundred days as in six months of a New England summer. Hardly has the +snow disappeared before the trees put forth their buds and blossoms, +and the hillsides are in all the verdure of an American spring. Men +tell me they have seen in a single week the snows disappear, ice break +in the streams, the grass spring up, and the trees beginning to bud. +Nature adapts herself to all her conditions. In the Arctic as in the +Torrid zone she fixes her compensations and makes her laws for the +best good of her children.</p> + +<p>It was midsummer when we reached Kamchatka, and the heat was like that +of August in Richmond or Baltimore. The thermometer ranged from +sixty-five to eighty. Long walks on land were out of question, unless +one possessed the power of a salamander. The shore of the bay was the +best place for a promenade, and we amused ourselves watching the +salmon fishers at work.</p> + +<p>Salmon form the principal food of the Kamchadales and their dogs. The +fishing season in Avatcha Bay lasts about six weeks, and at its close +the salmon leave the bay and ascend the streams, where they are caught +by the interior natives. In the bay they are taken in seines dragged +along the shore, and the number of fish caught annually is almost +beyond computation.</p> + +<p>Some years ago the fishery failed, and more than half the dogs in +Kamchatka starved. The following year there was a bountiful supply, +which the priests of Petropavlovsk commemorated by erecting a cross +near the entrance of the harbor. The supply is always larger after a +scarcity than in ordinary seasons.</p> + +<p>The fish designed for preservation are split and dried in the sun. The +odor of a fish drying establishment reminded me of the smells in +certain quarters of New York in summer, or of Cairo, Illinois, after +an unusual flood has subsided. One of our officers said he counted +three hundred and twenty distinct and different smells in walking half +a mile.</p> + +<p>In 1865 one of the merchants started the enterprise of curing salmon +for the Sandwich Island market. He told me he paid three roubles, +(about three greenback dollars,) a hundred (in number) for the fresh +fish, delivered at his establishment. Evidently he found the +speculation profitable, as he repeated it the following year.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm052-1.gif' id='sm052-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A SCALY BRIDGE.</p> +</div> + +<p>When the salmon ascend the rivers they furnish food to men and +animals. The natives catch them in nets and with spears, while dogs, +bears, and wolves use their teeth in fishing. Bears are expert in this +amusement, and where their game is plenty they eat only the heads and +backs. The fish are very abundant in the rivers, and no great skill +is required in their capture. Men with an air of veracity told me they +had seen streams in the interior of Kamchatka so filled with salmon +that one could cross on them as on a corduroy bridge! The story has a +piscatorial sound, but it <i>may</i> be true.</p> + +<p>House gardening on a limited scale is the principal agriculture of +Kamchatka. Fifty years ago, Admiral Ricord introduced the cultivation +of rye, wheat, and barley with considerable success, but the +inhabitants do not take kindly to it. The government brings rye flour +from the Amoor river and sells it to the people at cost, and in case +of distress it issues rations from its magazines.</p> + +<p>When I asked why there was no culture of grain in Kamchatka, they +replied: “What is the necessity of it? We can buy it at cost of the +government, and need not trouble ourselves about making our own +flour.”</p> + +<p>There is not a sawmill on the peninsula. Boards and plank are cut by +hand or brought from California. I slept two nights in a room ceiled +with red-wood and pine from San Francisco.</p> + +<p>On my second evening in Asia I passed several hours at the governor’s +house. The party talked, smoked, and drank tea until midnight, and +then closed the entertainment with a substantial supper. An +interesting and novel feature of the affair was the Russian manner of +making tea. The infusion had a better flavor than any I had previously +drank. This is due partly to the superior quality of the leaf, and +partly to the manner of its preparation.</p> + +<p>The “samovar” or tea-urn is an indispensable article in a Russian +household, and is found in nearly every dwelling from the Baltic to +Bering’s Sea. “Samovar” comes from two Greek words, meaning ‘to boil +itself.’ The article is nothing but a portable furnace; a brazen urn +with a cylinder two or three inches in diameter passing through it +from top to bottom. The cylinder being filled with coals, the water in +the urn is quickly heated, and remains boiling hot as long as the fire +continues. An imperial order abolishing samovars throughout all the +Russias, would produce more sorrow and indignation than the expulsion +of roast beef from the English bill of fare. The number of cups it +will contain is the measure of a samovar.</p> + +<p>Tea pots are of porcelain or earthenware. The tea pot is rinsed and +warmed with hot water before receiving the dry leaf. Boiling water is +poured upon the tea, and when the pot is full it is placed on the top +of the samovar. There it is kept hot but not boiled, and in five or +six minutes the tea is ready. Cups and saucers are not employed by the +Russians, but tumblers are generally used for tea drinking, and in the +best houses, where it can be afforded, they are held in silver sockets +like those in soda shops. Only loaf sugar is used in sweetening tea. +When lemons can be had they are employed to give flavor, a thin slice, +neither rolled nor pressed, being floated on the surface of the tea.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg054-1.gif' id='lg054-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RUSSIAN TEA SERVICE.</p> +</div> + +<p>The Russians take tea in the morning, after dinner, after lunch, +before bed-time, in the evening, at odd intervals in the day or night, +and they drink a great deal of it between drinks.</p> + +<p>In rambling about Petropavlovsk I found the hills covered with +luxuriant grass, sometimes reaching to my knees. Two or three miles +inland the grass was waist high on ground covered with snow six weeks +before. Among the flowers I recognized the violet and larkspur, the +former in great abundance. Earlier in the summer the hills were +literally carpeted with flowers. I could not learn that any skilled +botanist had ever visited Kamchatka and classified its flora. Among +the arboreal productions the alder and birch were the most numerous. +Pine, larch, and spruce grow on the Kamchatka river, and the timber +from them is brought to Avatcha from the mouth of that stream.</p> + +<p>The commercial value of Kamchatka is entirely in its fur trade. The +peninsula has no agricultural, manufacturing, or mining interest, and +were it not for the animals that lend their skins to keep us warm, the +merchant would find no charms in that region. The fur coming from +Kamchatka was the cause of the Russian discovery and conquest. For +many years the trade was conducted by individual merchants from +Siberia. The Russian American Company attempted to control it early in +the present century, and drove many competitors from the fields. It +received the most determined opposition from American merchants, and +in 1860 it abandoned Petropavlovsk, its business there being +profitless.</p> + +<p>In 1866 I found the fur trade of Kamchatka in the control of three +merchants: W.H. Boardman, of Boston, J.W. Fluger, of Hamburg, and +Alexander Phillipeus, of St. Petersburg. All of them had houses in +Petropavlovsk, and each had from one to half a dozen agencies or +branches elsewhere. To judge by appearances, Mr. Boardman had the +lion’s share of the trade. This gentleman’s father began the Northwest +traffic sometime in the last century, and left it as an inheritance +about 1828. His son continued the business until bought off by the +Hudson Bay Company, when he turned his attention to Kamchatka. +Personally he has never visited the Pacific Ocean.</p> + +<p>Mr. Fluger had been only two years in Kamchatka, and was doing a +miscellaneous business. Boardman’s agent confined himself to the fur +trade, but Fluger was up to anything. He salted salmon for market, +sent a schooner every year into the Arctic Ocean for walrus teeth and +mammoth tusks, bought furs, sold goods, kept a dog team, was attentive +to the ladies, and would have run for Congress had it been possible. +He had in his store about half a cord of walrus teeth piled against a +back entrance like stove wood. Phillipeus was a roving blade. He kept +an agent at Petropavlovsk and came there in person once a year. In +February he left St. Petersburg for London, whence he took the Red Sea +route to Japan. There he chartered a brig to visit Kamchatka and land +him at Ayan, on the Ohotsk Sea. From Ayan he went to Yakutsk, and from +that place through Irkutsk to St. Petersburg, where he arrived about +three hundred and fifty days after his departure. I met him in the +Russian capital just as he had completed the sixth journey of this +kind and was about to commence the seventh. If he were a Jew he should +be called the wandering Jew.</p> + +<p>Trade is conducted on the barter principle, furs being low and goods +high. The risks are great, transport is costly, and money is a long +time invested before it returns. The palmy days of the fur trade are +over; the product has greatly diminished, and competition has reduced +the percentage of profit on the little that remains.</p> + +<p>There was a time in the memory of man when furs formed the currency of +Kamchatka. Their employment as cash is not unknown at present, +although Russian money is in general circulation.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg056-1.gif' id='lg056-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHANGE FOR A DOLLAR</p> +</div> + +<p>There is a story of a traveler who paid his hotel bill in a country +town in Minnesota and received a beaver skin in change. The landlord +explained that it was legal tender for a dollar. Concealing this novel +cash under his coat, the traveler sauntered into a neighboring store.</p> + +<p>“Is it true,” he asked carelessly, “that a beaver skin is legal tender +for a dollar?” “Yes, sir,” said the merchant; “anybody will take it.”</p> + +<p>“Will you be so kind, then,” was the traveler’s request, “as to give +me change for a dollar bill?”</p> + +<p>“Certainly,” answered the merchant, taking the beaver skin and +returning four muskrat skins, current at twenty-five cents each.</p> + +<p>The sable is the principal fur sought by the merchants in Kamchatka, +or trapped by the natives. The animal is caught in a variety of ways, +man’s ingenuity being taxed to capture him. The ‘yessak,’ or +‘poll-tax’ of the natives is payable in sable fur, at the rate of a +skin for every four persons. The governor makes a yearly journey +through the peninsula to collect the tax, and is supposed to visit all +the villages. The merchants go and do likewise for trading purposes.</p> + +<p>Mr. George S. Cushing, who was long the agent of Mr. Boardman in +Kamchatka, estimated the product of sable fur at about six thousand +skins annually. Sometimes it exceeds and sometimes falls below that +figure. About a thousand foxes, a few sea otters and silver foxes, and +a good many bears, may be added, more for number than value. Silver +foxes and otters are scarce, while common foxes and bears are of +little account. A black fox is worth a great deal of money, but one +may find a white crow almost as readily.</p> + +<p>Bears are abundant, but their skins are not articles of export. The +beasts are brown or black, and grow to a disagreeable size. Bear +hunting is an amusement of the country, very pleasant and exciting +until the bear turns and becomes the hunter. Then there is no fun in +it, if he succeeds in his pursuit. A gentleman in Kamchatka gave me a +bearskin more than six feet long, and declared that it was not +unusually large. I am very glad there was no live bear in it when it +came into my possession.</p> + +<p>There is a story of a man in California who followed the track of a +grizzly bear a day and a half. He abandoned it because, as he +explained, “it was getting a little too fresh.”</p> + +<p>One day, about two years before my visit, a cow suddenly entered +Petropavlovsk with a live bear on her back. The bear escaped unhurt, +leaving the cow pretty well scratched. After that event she preferred +to graze in or near the town, and never brought home another bear.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg058-1.gif' id='lg058-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>COW AND BEAR.</p> +</div> + +<p>Kamchatka without dogs would be like Hamlet without Hamlet. While +crossing the Pacific my <i>compagnons du voyage</i> made many suggestions +touching my first experience in Kamchatka. “You won’t sleep any the +first night in port. The dogs will howl you out of your seven senses.” +This was the frequent remark of the engineer, corroborated by others. +On arriving, we were disappointed to find less than a hundred dogs at +Petropavlovsk, as the rest of the canines belonging there were +spending vacation in the country. About fifteen hundred were owned in +the town.</p> + +<p>Very few Kamchadale dogs can bark, but they will howl oftener, longer, +and louder than any ‘yaller dog’ that ever went to a cur pound or +became sausage meat. The few in Petropavlovsk made much of their +ability, and were especially vocal at sunset, near their feeding time. +Occasionally during the night they try their throats and keep up a +hailing and answering chorus, calculated to draw a great many oaths +from profane strangers.</p> + +<p>In 1865 Colonel Bulkley carried one of these animals to California. +The dog lifted up his voice on the waters very often, and received a +great deal of rope’s ending in consequence. At San Francisco Mr. +Covert took him home, and attempted his domestication. ‘Norcum,’ (for +that was the brute’s name,) created an enmity between Covert and all +who lived within hearing distance, and many were the threats of +canicide. Covert used to rise two or three times every night and +argue, with a club, to induce Norcum to be silent. While I was at San +Francisco, Mr. Mumford, one of the Telegraph Company’s directors, +conceived a fondness for the dog, and took him to the Occidental +Hotel.</p> + +<p>On the first day of his hotel life we tied Norcum on the balcony in +front of Mumford’s room, about forty feet from the ground. Scarcely +had we gone to dinner when he jumped from the balcony and hung by his +chain, with his hind feet resting upon a cornice.</p> + +<p>A howling wilderness is nothing to the noise he made before his +rescue, and he gathered and amused a large crowd with his performance. +He passed the night in the western basement of the hotel, and spoiled +the sleep of a dozen or more persons who lodged near him. When we left +San Francisco, Norcum was residing in the baggage-room at the +Occidental, under special care of the porters, who employed a great +deal of muscle in teaching him that silence was a golden virtue.</p> + +<p>The Kamchadale dogs are of the same breed as those used by the +Esquimaux, but are said to possess more strength and endurance. The +best Asiatic dogs are among the Koriaks, near Penjinsk Gulf, the +difference being due to climate and the care taken in breeding them. +Dogs are the sole reliance for winter travel in Kamchatka, and every +resident considers it his duty to own a team. They are driven in odd +numbers, all the way from three to twenty-one. The most intelligent +and best trained dog acts as a leader, the others being harnessed in +pairs. No reins are used, the voice of the driver being sufficient to +guide them.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg060-1.gif' id='lg060-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A KAMCHATKA TEAM.</p> +</div> + +<p>Dogs are fed almost entirely upon fish. They receive their rations +daily at sunset, and it is always desirable that each driver should +feed his own team. The day before starting on a journey, the dog +receives a half ration only, and he is kept on this slender diet as +long as the journey lasts. Sometimes when hungry they gnaw their +reindeer skin harnesses, and sometimes they do it as a pastime. Once +formed, the habit is not easy to break. Two kinds of sledges are +used, one for travel and the other for transporting freight. The +former is light and just large enough for one person with a little +baggage. The driver sits with his feet hanging over the side, and +clings to a bow that rises in front. In one hand he holds an +iron-pointed staff, with which he retards the vehicle in descending +hills, or brings it to a halt. A traveling sledge weighs about +twenty-five pounds, but a freight sledge is much heavier.</p> + +<p>A good team will travel from forty to sixty miles a day with favorable +roads. Sometimes a hundred a day may be accomplished, but very rarely. +Once an express traveled from Petropavlovsk to Bolcheretsk, a hundred +and twenty-five miles, in twenty-three hours, without change of dogs.</p> + +<p>Wolves have an inconvenient fondness for dog meat, and occasionally +attack travelers. A gentleman told me that a wolf once sprang from the +bushes, seized and dragged away one of his dogs, and did not detain +the team three minutes. The dogs are cowardly in their dispositions, +and will not fight unless they have large odds in their favor. A pack +of them will attack and kill a single strange dog, but would not +disturb a number equaling their own.</p> + +<p>Most of the Russian settlers buy their dogs from the natives who breed +them. Dogs trained to harness are worth from ten to forty roubles +(dollars) each, according to their quality. Leaders bring high prices +on account of their superior docility and the labor of training them. +Epidemics are frequent among dogs and carry off great numbers of them. +Hydrophobia is a common occurrence.</p> + +<p>The Russian inhabitants of Kamchatka are mostly descended from +Cossacks and exiles. There is a fair but not undue proportion of half +breeds, the natural result of marriage between natives and immigrants. +There are about four hundred Russians at Petropavlovsk, and the same +number at each of two other points. The aboriginal population is about +six thousand, including a few hundred dwellers on the Kurile Islands.</p> + +<p>No exiles have been sent to Kamchatka since 1830. One old man who had +been forty years a colonist was living at Avatcha in 1866. He was at +liberty to return to Europe, but preferred remaining.</p> + +<p>In 1771 occurred the first voyage from Kamchatka to a foreign port, +and curiously enough, it was performed under the Polish flag. A number +of exiles, headed by a Pole named Benyowski, seized a small vessel and +put to sea. Touching at Japan and Loo Choo to obtain water and +provisions, the party reached the Portuguese colony of Macao in +safety. There were no nautical instruments or charts on the ship, and +the successful result of the voyage was more accidental than +otherwise.</p> + +<p>Close by the harbor of Petropavlovsk there is a monument to the memory +of the ill-fated and intrepid navigator, La Perouse. It bears no +inscription, and was evidently built in haste. There is a story that a +French ship once arrived in Avatcha Bay on a voyage of discovery. Her +captain asked the governor if there was anything to commemorate the +visit of La Perouse.</p> + +<p>“Certainly,” was the reply; “I will show it to you in the morning.”</p> + +<p>During the night the monument was hastily constructed of wood and +sheet iron, and fixed in the position to which the governor led his +delighted guest.</p> + +<p>Captain Clerke, successor to Captain Cook, of Sandwich Island memory, +died while his ships were in Avatcha Bay, and was buried at +Petropavlovsk. A monument that formerly marked his grave has +disappeared. Captain Lund and Colonel Bulkley arranged to erect a +durable memorial in its place. We prepared an inscription in English +and Russian, and for temporary purposes fixed a small tablet on the +designated spot. Americans and Russians formed the party that listened +to the brief tribute which one of our number paid to the memory of the +great navigator.</p> + +<p>In the autumn of 1854, a combined English and French fleet of six +ships suffered a severe repulse from several land batteries and the +guns of a Russian frigate in the harbor. Twice beaten off, their +commanders determined an assault. They landed a strong force of +sailors and marines, that attempted to take the town in the rear, but +the Kamchadale sharpshooters created a panic, and drove the assailants +over a steeply sloping cliff two hundred feet high.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg063-1.gif' id='lg063-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>REPULSE OF THE ASSAILANTS.</p> +</div> + +<p>Naturally the natives are proud of their success in this battle, and +mention it to every visitor. The English Admiral committed suicide +early in the attack. The fleet retired to San Francisco, and returned +in the following year prepared to capture the town at all hazards, but +Petropavlovsk had been abandoned by the Russians, who retired beyond +the hills. An American remained in charge of a trading establishment, +and hoisted his national colors over it. The allies burned the +government property and destroyed the batteries.</p> + +<p>There were five or six hundred dogs in town when the fleet entered the +bay. Their violent howling held the allies aloof a whole day, under +the impression that a garrison should be very large to have so many +watch-dogs.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_V'></a><h2>CHAPTER V.</h2></div> + + +<p>The first project for making discoveries in the ocean east of +Kamchatka was formed by Peter the Great. Danish, German, and English +navigators and <i>savans</i> were sent to the eastern coast of Asia to +conduct explorations in the desired quarter, but very little was +accomplished in the lifetime of the great czar. His successors carried +out his plans.</p> + +<p>In June, 1741, Vitus Bering, the first navigator of the straits which +bear his name, sailed from Avatcha Bay. Passing south of the islands +of the Aleutian chain, Bering steered to the eastward, and at length +discovered the American continent. “On the 16th of July,” says +Steller, the naturalist and historian of the expedition, “we saw a +mountain whose height was so great as to be visible at the distance of +sixteen Dutch miles. The coast of the continent was much broken and +indented with bays and harbors.”</p> + +<p>The nearest point of land was named Cape St. Elias, as it was +discovered on St. Ellas’ day. The high mountain received the name of +the saint, and has clung to it ever since.</p> + +<p>When Bering discovered Russian America he had no thought it would one +day be sold to the United States, and there is nothing to show that he +ever corresponded with Mr. Seward about it. He sailed a short distance +along its coast, visited various islands, and then steered for +Kamchatka.</p> + +<p>The commander was confined to his cabin by illness, and the crew +suffered severely from scurvy. “At one period,” says Steller, “only +ten persons were capable of duty, and they were too weak to furl the +sails, so that the ship was left to the mercy of the elements. Not +only the sick died, but those who pretended to be healthy fainted and +fell down dead when relieved from their posts.”</p> + +<p>In this condition the navigators were drifted upon a rocky island, +where their ship went to pieces, but not until all had landed. Many of +the crew died soon after going on shore, but the transfer from the +ship appeared to diminish the ravages of the scurvy. Commander Bering +died on the 8th of December, and was buried in the trench where he +lay. The island where he perished bears his name, but his grave is +unmarked. An iron monument to his memory was recently erected at +Petropavlovsk.</p> + +<p>No human dwellers were found on the island. Foxes were numerous and +had no fear of the shipwrecked mariners. “We killed many of them,” +Steller adds, “with our hatchets and knives. They annoyed us greatly, +and we were unable to keep them from entering our shelters and +stealing our clothing and food.” The survivors built a small vessel +from the wreck, and succeeded in reaching Avatcha in the following +summer. “We were given up for dead,” says the historian, “and the +property we left in Kamchatka had been appropriated by strangers.”</p> + +<p>The reports concerning the abundance of fur-bearing animals on +Bering’s Island and elsewhere, induced private parties to go in search +of profit. Various expeditions were fitted out in ships of clumsy +construction and bad sailing qualities. The timbers were fastened with +wooden pins and leathern thongs, and the crevices were caulked with +moss. Occasionally the cordage was made from reindeer skins, and the +sails from the same material. Many ships were wrecked, but this did +not frighten adventurous merchants.</p> + +<p>Few of these voyages were pushed farther than the Aleutian islands. +The natives were hostile and killed a fair proportion of the Russian +explorers. In 1781 a few merchants of Kamchatka arranged a company +with a view to developing commerce in Russian America. They equipped +several ships, formed a settlement at Kodiak and conducted an +extensive and profitable business. Their agents treated the natives +with great cruelty, and so bad was their conduct that the emperor +Paul revoked their privileges.</p> + +<p>A new company was formed and chartered in July, 1779, under the title +of the Russian-American Company. It succeeded the old concern, and +absorbed it into its organization.</p> + +<p>The Russian-American Company had its chief office in St. Petersburg, +where the Directors formed a kind of high court of appeal. It was +authorized to explore and place under control of the crown all the +territories of North-Western America not belonging to any other +government. It was required to deal kindly with the natives, and +endeavor to convert them to the religion of the empire. It had the +administration of the country and a commercial monopoly through its +whole extent. All other merchants were to be excluded, no matter what +their nationality. At one time so great was the jealousy of the +Company’s officers that no foreign ship was allowed within twenty +miles of the coast.</p> + +<p>The Imperial Government required that the chief officer of the company +should be commissioned in the service of the crown, and detailed to +the control of the American Territory. His residence was at Sitka, to +which the principal post was removed from Kodiak. In the early history +of the Company there were many encounters with the natives, the +severest battle taking place on the present site of Sitka. The natives +had a fort there, and were only driven from it after a long and +obstinate fight. The first colony that settled at Sitka was driven +away, and all traces of the Russian occupation were destroyed. After a +few years of conflict, peace was declared, and trade became +prosperous. The Company occupied Russian America and the Aleutian +Islands, and pushed its traffic to the Arctic Ocean. It established +posts on the Kurile Islands, in Kamchatka, and along the coast of the +Ohotsk Sea. It built churches, employed priests, and was quite +successful in converting the natives to Christianity.</p> + +<p>Having a monopoly of trade and being the law giver to the natives, the +Company had things in pretty much its own way. The governor at Sitka +was the autocrat of all the American Russians. There was no appeal +from his decision except to the Directory at St. Petersburg, which was +about as accessible as the moon. The natives were reduced to a +condition of slavery; they were compelled to devote the best part of +their time to the company’s labor, and the accounts were so managed as +to keep them always in debt.</p> + +<p>Alexander Baranoff was the first governor, and continued more than +twenty years in power. He managed affairs to his own taste, paying +little regard to the wishes of the Directory, or even of the Emperor, +when they conflicted with his own. The Russians in the company’s +employ were <i>Promushleniks</i>, or adventurers, enlisted in Siberia for a +term of years. They were soldiers, sailors, hunters, fishermen, or +mechanics, according to the needs of the service. Their condition was +little better than that of the natives they held in subjection. The +territory was divided into districts, each under an officer who +reported to the Chief at Sitka.</p> + +<p>The Directory was not troubled so long as profits were large, but the +government had suspicions that the Company’s reign was oppressive. An +exploring expedition under Admiral Krusenstern visited the North +Pacific in 1805; the reports of the Admiral exposed many abuses and +led to changes. A more rigid supervision followed, and produced much +good. The government insisted upon appointing officers of integrity +and humanity to the chief place at Sitka.</p> + +<p>For many years the Company prospered. In 1812 it founded the colony of +Ross, on the coast of California, and a few years later prepared to +dispute the right of the Spanish Governor to occupy that region. The +natives were everywhere peaceable, and the dividends satisfied the +stockholders. The slaughter of the fur-bearing animals was +injudiciously conducted, and led to a great decrease of revenue. The +last dividend of importance (12 per cent.) was in 1853. After that +year misfortune seemed to follow the Company. Its trade was greatly +reduced, partly by the diminished fur production and partly by the +illicit traffic of independent vessels along the coast. Several ships +were lost, one in 1865, with a valuable cargo of furs. In 1866 the +Company’s stock, from a nominal value of 150, had fallen to about 80, +and the Company was even obliged to accept an annual subsidy of +200,000 roubles from the Government. So late as February, 1867, it +received a loan of 1,000,000 roubles from the Imperial Bank. Probably +a few years more would have seen the total extinction of the Company, +and the reversion of all its rights and expenses to the Crown.</p> + +<p>In 1866 the fleet of the Russian-American Company comprised two sea +steamers, six ships, two brigs, one schooner, and several smaller +craft for coasting and inland service. During the Crimean war the +Company’s property was made neutral on condition of its taking no part +in hostilities. Two of its ships were captured and burned for an +alleged violation of neutrality.</p> + +<p>The Company leased a portion of its territory to the Hudson Bay +Company, and allowed it to establish hunting and trading posts. A +strip of land bordering the ocean was thus in English hands, and gave +access to a wide region beyond the Coast Mountains. Not content with +what was leased, the Hudson Bay Company deliberately seized a locality +on the Yukon river when it had no right. It built Fort Yukon and +secured much of the interior trade of Russian America.</p> + +<p>When our Secretary of State purchased the Emperor’s title to the +western coast of America, there were various opinions respecting the +sagacity of the transaction. No one could say what was the intrinsic +value of the country, either actual or prospective. The Company never +gave much attention to scientific matters.</p> + +<p>The Russian government had made some explorations to ascertain the +character and extent of the rivers, mountains, plains, and swamps that +form the country. In 1841 Lieutenant Zagoyskin commenced an +examination of the country bordering the rivers, and continued it for +two years. He traced the course of the Kuskokvim and the lower +portions of the Yukon, or Kvikpak. His observations were chiefly +confined to the rivers and the country immediately bordering them. +He made no discoveries of agricultural or mineral wealth. Fish and +deer-meat, with berries, formed the food of the natives, while furs +were their only articles of trade.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg069-1.gif' id='lg069-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>VIEW OF SITKA</p> +</div> + +<p>Russian America is of great extent, superficially. It is agreeably +diversified with mountains, hills, rolling country, and table land, +with a liberal amount of <i>pereval</i> or undulating swamp. In the +northern portion there is timber scattered along the rivers and on the +mountain slopes; but the trees and their quantity are alike small. In +the southern parts there are forests of large trees, that will be +valuable when Oregon and Washington are exhausted. Along the coast +there are many bays and harbors, easy of access and well sheltered. +Sitka has a magnificent harbor, never frozen or obstructed with ice.</p> + +<p>Gold is known to exist in several localities. A few placer mines have +been opened on the Stikeen river, but no one knows the extent of the +auriferous beds, in the absence of all ‘prospecting’ data. I do not +believe gold mining will ever be found profitable in Russian America. +The winters are long and cold, and the snows are deep. The working +season is very short, and in many localities on the mainland ‘ground +ice’ is permanent at slight depths. Veins of copper have been found +near the Yukon, but so far none that would pay for developing.</p> + +<p>Building stone is abundant, and so is ice. Neither is of much value in +commerce.</p> + +<p>The fur trade was the chief source of the Company’s revenue. The +principal fur-bearing animals are the otter, seal, beaver, marten, +mink, fox, and a few others. There is a little trade in walrus teeth, +mammoth tusks, whalebone, and oil. The rivers abound in fish, of which +large quantities are annually salted and sent to the Pacific markets. +The fisheries along the coast are valuable and of the same character +as those on the banks of Newfoundland.</p> + +<p>Agriculture is limited to a few garden vegetables. There are no fruit +trees, and no attempts have thus far been made to introduce them. The +number of native inhabitants is unknown, as no census has ever been +taken. I have heard it estimated all the way from twenty to sixty +thousand. The island and sea coast inhabitants are of the Esquimaux +type, while those of the interior are allied to the North American +Indians. The explorers for the Western Union Telegraph Company found +them friendly, but not inclined to labor. Some of the natives left +their hunting at its busiest season to assist an exploring party in +distress.</p> + +<p>The change of rulers will prove a misfortune to the aboriginal. Very +wisely the Russian American Company prohibited intoxicating liquors in +all dealings with the natives. The contraband stuff could only be +obtained from, independent trading ships, chiefly American. With the +opening of the country to our commerce, whisky has been abundant and +accessible to everybody. The native population will rapidly diminish, +and its decrease will be accompanied by a falling off in the fur +product. Our government should rigidly continue the prohibitory law as +enforced by the Russian officials.</p> + +<p>The sale of his American property was an excellent transaction on the +part of the Emperor. The country brought no revenue worth the name, +and threatened to be an expensive ornament in coming years. It +required a sea voyage to reach it, and was upon a continent which +Russia does not aspire to control. It had no strategic importance in +the Muscovite policy, and was better out of the empire than in it.</p> + +<p>The purchase by ourselves may or may not prove a financial success. +Thus far its developments have not been promising. When the country +has been thoroughly examined, it is possible we may find stores of now +unknown wealth. Politically the acquisition is more important. The +possession of a large part of the Pacific coast, indented with many +bays and harbors, is a matter of moment in view of our national +ambition. The American eagle can scream louder since its cage has been +enlarged, and if any man attempts to haul down that noble bird, scoop +him from the spot.</p> + +<hr /> +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_VI'></a><h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2></div> + + +<p>Colonel Bulkley determined to sail on the 6th of August for Anadyr +Bay, and ordered the Variag to proceed to the Amoor by way of Ghijiga. +Early in the morning the corvette changed her moorings and shook a +reef from her telescopic smoke stack, and at nine o’clock I bade adieu +to the Wright and went on board the Variag, to which I was welcomed by +Capt. Lund, according to the Russian custom, and quartered in the room +specially designed for the use of the Admiral. The ladies were on the +nearest point of the beach, and just before our departure the Captain +and most of his officers paid them a farewell visit. Seizing the tow +line of the Danzig, which we were to take to sea, we steamed from the +harbor into the Pacific, followed by the cheers of all on board the +Wright and the waving of ladies’ handkerchiefs till lost in the +distance. We desired to pass the fourth, or Amphitrite, channel of the +Kurile Islands; the weather was so thick that we could not see a +ship’s length in any direction, and all night men stood with axes +ready to cut the Danzig’s tow line in case any sudden danger should +appear. The fog lifted just as we neared the channel, and we had a +clear view on all sides.</p> + +<p>We cast off the Danzig when fairly out of the Pacific. During the two +days the Variag had her in tow we maintained communication by means of +a log line and a junk bottle carefully sealed. Casting our bottle on +the waters, we allowed it to drift along side the Danzig, where it +could be fished up and opened. Answers were returned in the same mail +pouch. One response was in liquid form, and savored of gin cocktail, +fabricated by the American captain.</p> + +<p>An hour after dropping the Danzig we stopped our engines and prepared +to run under sail. The whole crew was called on deck to hoist out the +screw, a mass of copper weighing twenty-five thousand pounds, and set +in a frame raised or lowered like a window sash. With strong ropes and +the power of three hundred men, the frame and its contents were lifted +out of water, and the Variag became a sailing ship. The Russian +government is more economical than our own in running ships of war. +Whenever possible, sails are used instead of steam. A few years ago a +Russian Admiral was transferred from active to retired service because +he burned too much coal.</p> + +<p>The Variag was 2100 tons burthen, and carried seventeen guns, with a +crew of 306 men. She was of the fleet that visited New York in 1863, +and her officers recounted many pleasant reminiscences of their stay +in the United States. While wintering in Japanese waters she was +assigned to assist the telegraph enterprise, and reported as soon as +possible at Petropavlovsk; but the only service demanded was to +proceed to the mouth of the Amoor by way of Ghijiga and Ohotsk.</p> + +<p>The officers of the Variag were, a captain, a commander, four +lieutenants, six sub-lieutenants, an officer of marines with a cadet, +a lieutenant of naval artillery, two sailing masters, two engineers, a +surgeon, a paymaster, and a priest. As near as I could ascertain, +their pay, including allowances, was about three-fourths that of +American officers of similar grades. They received three times as much +at sea as when awaiting orders, and this fact led them to seek +constant service. In the ward room they read, wrote, talked, smoked, +and could play any games of amusement except cards. Card playing is +strictly forbidden by the Russian naval regulations.</p> + +<p>The sailors on the corvette were robust and powerful fellows, with +appetites to frighten a hotel keeper. Russian sailors from the +interior of the empire are very liable to scurvy. Those from Finland +are the best for long voyages. Captain Lund once told me the +experience of a Russian expedition of five ships upon a long cruise. +One ship was manned by Finlanders, and the others carried sailors from +the interior. The Finlanders were not attacked with scurvy, but the +rest suffered severely.</p> + +<p>“All the Russians,” said the captain, “make good sailors, but those +from the maritime provinces are the best seamen.”</p> + +<p>Early in the voyage it was interesting to see the men at dinner. Their +table utensils were wooden spoons and tubs, at the rate of ten spoons +and one tub to every ten men. A piece of canvas upon the deck received +the tub, which generally contained soup. With their hats off, the men +dined leisurely and amicably. Soup and bread were the staple articles +of food. Cabbage soup <i>(schee)</i> is the national diet of Russia, from +the peasant up to the autocrat. Several times on the voyage we had +soup on the captain’s table from the supply prepared for the crew, and +I can testify to its excellence. The food of the sailors was carefully +inspected before being served. When the soup was ready, the cook took +a bowl of it, with a slice of bread and a clean spoon, and delivered +the whole to the boatswain. From the boatswain it went to the officer +of the deck, and from him to the chief officer, who delivered it to +the captain. The captain carefully examined and tasted the soup. If +unobjectionable, the bowl was returned to the galley and the dinner +served at once.</p> + +<p>A sailor’s ration in the Russian navy is more than sufficient for an +ordinary appetite and digestion. The grog ration is allowed, and the +boatswain’s call to liquid refreshment is longer and shriller than for +any other duty. At the grog tub the sailor stands with uncovered head +while performing the ceremonial abhorred of Good Templars. As of old +in our navy, grog is stopped as a punishment. The drink ration can be +entirely commuted and the food ration one half, but not more. Many +sailors on the Variag practiced total abstinence at sea, and as the +grog had been purchased in Japan at very high cost, the commutation +money was considerable. Commutation is regulated according to the +price of the articles where the ship was last supplied.</p> + +<p>I was told that the sailor’s pay, including ordinary allowances, is +about a hundred roubles a year. The sum is not munificent, but +probably the Muscovite mariner is no more economical than the American +one. In his liberty on shore he will get as drunk as the oft quoted +‘boiled owl.’ <i>En passant</i> I protest against the comparison, as it is +a slander upon the owl.</p> + +<p>At Petropavlovsk there was an amusing fraternization between the crews +of the Variag and the Wright. The American sailors were scattered +among the Russians in the proportion of one to six. Neither understood +a word of the other’s language, and the mouth and eye were obliged to +perform the duties of the ear. The flowing bowl was the manual of +conversation between the Russians and their new friends. The Americans +attempted to drink against fearful odds, and the result was +unfortunate. They returned sadly intoxicated and were unfit for social +or nautical duties until the next day.</p> + +<p>When the Variag was at New York in 1863, many of her sailors were +entrapped by bounty-brokers. When sailors were missing after liberty +on shore, a search through the proper channels revealed them converted +into American soldiers, much against their will. Usually they were +found at New York, but occasionally a man reached the front before he +was rescued. Some returned to the ship dressed as zouaves, others as +artillerists; some in the yellow of cavalry, and so on through our +various uniforms. Of course they were greatly jeered by their +comrades.</p> + +<p>Everyone conversant with Russian history knows that Peter the Great +went to England, and afterward to Holland, to study ship building. He +introduced naval construction from those countries, and brought from +Holland the men to manage his first ships and teach his subjects the +art of navigation. As a result of his enterprise, the principal parts +of a Russian ship have English or Dutch names, some words being +changed a little to adapt them to Russian pronunciation. The Dutch +navigators exerted great influence upon the nautical language of +Russia. To illustrate this Captain Lund said: “A Dutch pilot or +captain could come on my ship and his orders in his own language would +be understood by my crew. I mean simply the words of command, without +explanations. On the other hand, a Dutch crew could understand my +orders without suspecting they were Russian.”</p> + +<p>Sitting among the officers in the ward-room, I endeavored to accustom +my ear to the sound of the Russian language and learn to repeat the +most needed phrases. I soon acquired the alphabet, and could count up +to any extent; I could spell Russian words much as a schoolboy goes +through his ‘first reader’ exercise, but was unable to attain rapid +enunciation. I could never get over the impression that the Muscovite +type had been set up by a drunken printer who couldn’t read. The R’s +looked the wrong way, the L’s stood bottom upward, H’s became N’s, and +C’s were S’s, and lower case and small caps were generally mixed up. +The perplexities of Russian youth must be greater than ours, as they +have thirty-six letters in their alphabet and every one of them must +be learned. A brief study of Slavonic verbs and nouns convinced me +they could never be acquired grammatically in the short time I +proposed remaining in Russia, and so I gave them up.</p> + +<p>What a hindrance to a traveler and literal man of the world is this +confusion of tongues! There is no human being who can make himself +verbally understood everywhere on this little globe. In the Russian +empire alone there are more than a hundred spoken languages and +dialects. The emperor, with all his erudition, has many subjects with +whom he is unable to converse. What a misfortune to mankind that the +Tower of Babel was ever commenced! The architect who planned it should +receive the execration of all posterity.</p> + +<p>The apartment I occupied was of goodly size, and contained a large +writing desk. My bed was parallel to the keel, and hung so that it +could swing when the ship rolled. Previous to my embarkation the room +was the receptacle of a quantity of chronometers, sextants, charts, +and other nautical apparatus. There were seventeen chronometers in +one box, and a few others lay around loose. I never had as much time +at my command before or since. Twice a day an officer came to wind +these chronometers and note their variation. There were marine +instruments enough in that room to supply a dozen sea-captains, but if +the entire lot had been loan’d me, I never could have ascertained the +ship’s position without asking somebody who knew it.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg077-1.gif' id='lg077-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>PLENTY OF TIME.</p> +</div> + +<p>The partition separating me from the ward-room was built after the +completion of the ship, and had a way of creaking like a thousand or +more squeaky boots in simultaneous action. Every time we rolled, each +board rubbed against its neighbor and waked the echoes of the cabin. +The first time I slept in the room the partition seemed talking in +Russian, and I distinctly remember that it named a majority of the +cities and many noble families throughout the empire. After the first +night it was powerless to disturb me. I thought it possible that on +leaving the ship I might be in the condition of the woman, whose +husband, a fearful snorer, was suddenly called from home. The lady +passed several sleepless nights, until she hit upon the expedient of +calling a servant with the coffee mill. The vigorous grinding of that +household utensil had the effect of a powerful opiate.</p> + +<p>At eight o’clock every morning, Yakuff, (the Russian for Jacob,) +brought me a pitcher of water. When my toilet was over, he appeared +with a cup of tea and a few cakes. We conversed in the beginning with +a sign language, until I picked up enough Russian to ask for tea, +water, bread, and other necessary things. At eleven we had breakfast +in the captain’s cabin, where we discussed steaks, cutlets, tea, and +cigars, until nearly noon. Dinner at six o’clock was opened with the +never failing zakushka, or lunch, the universal preparative of the +empire, and closed with tea and cigars. At eight o’clock tea was +served again. After it, any one who chose could partake of the cup +which cheers and inebriates.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg078-1.gif' id='lg078-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RUSSIAN OFFICERS AT MESS.</p> +</div> + +<p>One morning during my voyage a sailor died. The ocean burial occurred +on the following day, and was conducted according to the ceremonial of +the Eastern Church. At the appointed time, I went with Captain Lund to +the place of worship, between decks. The corpse was in a canvas +coffin, its head and breast being visible. The coffin, partially +covered with the naval ensign, lay on a wide plank about two feet +above the deck. At its head the priest was reading the burial service, +while near him there was a group of sailors forming the choir. Captain +Lund and several officers stood at the foot of the coffin, each +holding a burning taper.</p> + +<p>The service lasted about twenty minutes, and consisted of reading by +the priest and responses by the choir. The censer was repeatedly +swung, as in Catholic ceremonials, the priest bowing at the same time +toward the sacred picture. Simultaneously all the candles were +extinguished, and their several men advanced and kissed a small cross +lying upon the coffin. The priest read a few lines from a written +paper and placed it with the cross on the breast of the corpse. The +coffin was then closed and carried upon the plank to the stern of the +ship.</p> + +<p>After a final chant by the choir, one end of the plank was lifted, and +a single splash in the water showed where the body went down. During +the service the flag floated at half mast. It was soon lowered amid +appropriate music, which ended the burial at sea.</p> + +<p>On the third day after leaving the Pacific we were shrouded in fog, +but with it we had a fine southerly breeze that carried us rapidly on +our course. The fog was so dense that we obtained no observation for +four days, but so accurate was the sailing master’s computation that +the difference between our observed and estimated positions was less +than two miles.</p> + +<p>When the fog rose we were fairly in Ghijiga Bay, a body of water +shaped like a narrow V. Sharp eyes looking ahead discovered a vessel +at anchor, and all hoped it was the Clara Bell. As we approached she +developed into a barque, and gave us comfort, till her flag completed +our delight. We threw the lead and began looking for anchorage.</p> + +<p>Nine, eight, seven fathoms were successively reported, and for some +minutes the depth remained at six and a half. A mile from the Clara +Bell we dropped anchor, the ship trembling from, stem to stern as the +huge chain ran through the hawse-hole. We were at the end of a nine +days voyage.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_VII'></a><h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2></div> + + +<p>We were fifteen miles from the mouth of Ghijiga river, the shoals +forbidding nearer approach. The tide rises twenty-two feet in Ghijiga +Bay, and to reach the lighthouse and settlement near the river, even +with small boats, it is necessary to go with the tide. We learned that +Major Abasa, of the Telegraph service, was at the light-house awaiting +our arrival, and that we must start before midnight to reach the +landing at the proper time.</p> + +<p>Captain Lund ordered a huge box filled with provisions and other table +ware, and threw in a few bottles of wine as ballast. I was too old a +traveler to neglect my blankets and rubber coat, and found that +Anossoff was as cautious as myself.</p> + +<p>We prolonged our tea-drinking to ten o’clock and then started. +Descending the ship’s side was no easy matter. It was at least three +feet from the bottom of the gang-way ladder to the water, and the boat +was dancing on the chopping sea like a pea on a hot shovel. Captain +Lund descended first, followed by Anossoff. Then I made my effort, and +behind me was a grim Cossack. Just as I reached the lowest step a wave +swung the boat from the ship and left me hanging over the water. The +Cossack, unmindful of things below, was backing steadily toward my +head. I could not think of the Russian phrase for the occasion and was +in some dilemma how to act. I shouted ‘Look out’ with such emphasis +that the man understood me and halted with his heavy boots about two +inches above my face. Clinging to the side ropes and watching my +opportunity, I jumped at the right moment and happily hit the boat. +The Cossack jumped into the lap of a sailor and received a variety of +epithets for his carelessness. There are fourteen ways in the Russian +language of calling a man a —— fool, and I think all of them were +used.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg081-1.gif' id='lg081-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>ASCENDING THE BAY.</p> +</div> + +<p>Wind and tide opposed each other and tossed us rather uncomfortably. +The waves breaking over the bow saturated the Cossack and sprinkled +some of the sailors. At the stern we managed to protect ourselves, +though we caught occasionally a few drops of spray. Wrapped in my +overcoat and holding a bear-skin on my knees, I studied the summer +night in that high northern latitude. At midnight it seemed like day +break, and I half imagined we had wrongly calculated the hours and +were later than we supposed. Between sunset and sunrise the twilight +crept along the horizon from Occident to Orient. Further north the +inhabitants of the Arctic circle were enjoying the light of their long +summer day. What a contrast to the bleak night of cold and darkness +that stretches with faint glimmerings of dawn through nearly half the +year. The shores of the bay were high perpendicular banks, sharply +cut like the bluffs at Vicksburg. There are several head-lands, but +none project far enough to form harbors behind them. The bottom +furnishes good anchoring ground, but the bay is quite open to +southerly winds.</p> + +<p>Captain Lund dropped his chin to his breast and slept soundly. +Anossoff raised his coat collar and drew in his head like a tortoise +returning into his shell, but with all his efforts he did not sleep. I +was wakeful and found that time dragged slowly. The light-house had no +light and needed none, as the darkness was far from profound. In +approaching the mouth of the river we discovered a cluster of +buildings, and close at hand two beacons, like crosses, marking the +direction of the channel.</p> + +<p>There was a little surf breaking along the beach as our keel touched +the ground. Our blankets came dripping from the bottom of the boat, +and my satchel had taken water enough to spoil my paper collars and a +dozen cigars. My greatest calamity on that night was the sudden and +persistent stoppage of my watch. An occurrence of little moment in New +York or London was decidedly unpleasant when no trusty watchmaker +lived within four thousand miles.</p> + +<p>Major Abasa and the Ispravnik of Ghijiga escorted us from the landing +to their quarters, where we soon warmed ourselves with hot tea, and I +took opportunity and a couple of bearskins and went to sleep. Late in +the day we had a dinner of soup, pork and peas, reindeer meat, and +berry pudding. The deer’s flesh was sweet and tender, with a flavor +like that of the American elk.</p> + +<p>In this part of Siberia there are many wide plains (<i>tundras</i>) covered +with moss and destitute of trees. The blueberry grows there, but is +less abundant than the “maroska,” a berry that I never saw in America. +It is yellow when ripe, has an acid flavor, and resembles the +raspberry in shape and size. We ate the maroska in as many forms as it +could be prepared, and they told us that it grew in Scotland, +Scandinavia, and Northern Russia.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg083-1.gif' id='lg083-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>TAKING THE CENSUS.</p> +</div> + +<p>The ordinary residents at the mouth of Ghijiga river were the pilot +and his family, with three or four Cossacks to row boats on the bay. +The natives of the vicinity came there occasionally, but none were +permanent citizens. The arrival of the Variag and Clara Bell gave +unusual activity to the settlement, and the Ispravnik might have +returned a large population had he imitated the practice of those +western towns that take their census during the stay of a railway +train or a steamboat. There was once, according to a rural historian, +an aspiring politician in Tennessee who wanted to go to Congress. +There were not inhabitants enough in his district to send him, and so +he placed a couple of his friends at the railway station to take the +names of passengers as they visited the refreshment saloon and entered +or left the depot. In a short time the requisite constituency was +secured and sworn to, so that the aspirant for official honor +accomplished the wish of his heart.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm084-1.gif' id='sm084-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>LIGHT-HOUSE AT GHIJIGA.</p> +</div> + +<p>The light-house on the promontory is a hexagonal edifice ten feet in +diameter and height; it is of logs and has a flat top covered with +dirt, whereon to kindle a fire. The interior is entered by a low door, +and I found it floored with two sticks of wood and a mud puddle. One +could reach the top by climbing a sloping pole notched like an +American fence-post. The pilot resides at the foot of the bluff, and +is expected to visit this beacon daily. A cannon, old enough to have +served at Pultawa, stands near the light-house, in a condition of +utter helplessness.</p> + +<p>The houses were furnished quite primitively. Beds were of bearskins +and blankets, and the floor was the only bedstead. There were rustic +tables of hewn boards, and benches without backs. In a storehouse +there was a Fairbanks’ scale, somewhat worn and rusty, and I found a +tuneless melodeon from Boston and a coffee mill from New York.</p> + +<p>The town of Ghijiga is on the bank of the river, twelve miles from the +light-house, and the route thither was overland or by water, at one’s +choice. Overland there was a footpath crossing a hill and a wet +tundra. The journey by water was upon the Ghijiga river; five versts +of rowing and thirteen of towing by men or dogs. As it was impossible +to hire a horse, I repudiated the overland route altogether, and tried +a brief journey on the river, but could not reach the town and return +in time for certain engagements. Ghijiga has a population of less +than three hundred, and closely resembles Petropavlovsk. Two or three +foreign merchants go there annually with goods to exchange for furs +which the Russian traders gather. The inhabitants are Russians or half +breeds, the former predominating. The half breeds are said to possess +all the vices of both races with the virtues of neither.</p> + +<p>Mr. Bilzukavitch, the Ispravnik of Ghijiga, was a native of Poland, +and governed seventy-two thousand square miles of territory, with a +population of sixteen hundred taxed males. His military force +comprised thirty Cossacks with five muskets, of which three were +unserviceable. The native tribes included in the district of Ghijiga +are the Koriaks and Chukchees; the Koriaks readily pay tribute and +acknowledge the Russian authority, but the Chukchees are not yet +fairly subdued. They were long in open war with the Russians, and +though peace is now established, many of them are not tributary. Those +who visit the Russian towns are compelled to pay tribute and become +Imperial subjects before selling or purchasing goods. The Ispravnik is +an artist of unusual merit, as evinced by an album of his sketches +illustrating life in Northern Siberia. Some of them appeared like +steel engravings, and testified to the skill and patience of the man +who made them.</p> + +<p>On my second day at Ghijiga I tried a river journey with a dog team. +The bottom of the boat was on the ‘dug-out’ principle, and the sides +were two planks meeting in sharp and high points at the ends. I had a +seat on some bearskins on the plank flooring, and found it reasonably +comfortable. One man steered the boat, another in the bow managed the +towline, and a third, who walked on land, drove the dogs. We had seven +canines—three pairs and a leader—pulling upon a deerskin towline +fastened to a thole-pin. It was the duty of the man in the bow to +regulate the towline according to circumstances. The dogs were +unaccustomed to their driver, and balky in consequence. Two of them +refused to pull when we started, and remained obstinate until +persuaded with sticks. The driver used neither reins nor whip, but +liberally employed the drift wood along the banks. Clubs were trumps +in that day’s driving. The team was turned to the left by a guttural +sound that no paper and ink can describe, and to the right by a rapid +repetition of the word ‘ca.’</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg086-1.gif' id='lg086-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>TOWED BY DOGS</p> +</div> + +<p>Occasionally the path changed from one bank to the opposite. At such +times we seated the dogs in the bow of the boat and ferried them over +the river. In the boat they were generally quiet, though inclined to +bite each other’s legs at convenient opportunities. One muddy dog +shook himself over me; I forgave him, but his driver did not, the +innocent brute receiving several blows for making his toilet in +presence of passengers.</p> + +<p>The Koriaks have a habit of sacrificing dogs to obtain a fortunate +fishery. The animals are hung on limbs of trees, and the sacrifice +always includes the best. Major Abasa urged them to give only their +worthless dogs to the evil spirit, assuring them the fishery would +result just as well, and they promised to try the experiment. Dogs +were scarce and expensive in consequence of a recent canine epidemic. +Only a day before our arrival three dogs developed hydrophobia and +were killed.</p> + +<p>The salmon fishery was very poor in 1866, and the inhabitants of the +Ghijiga district were relying upon catching seals in the autumn. At +Kolymsk, on the Kolyma river, the authorities require every man to +catch one-tenth more than enough for his own use. This surplus is +placed in a public storehouse and issued in case of famine. It is the +rule to keep a three years supply always at hand. Several seasons of +scarcity led to the adoption of the plan.</p> + +<p>We were frequently visited by the natives from a Koriak village near +the light-house. Their dress was of deer skin, and comprised a +kotlanka, or frock, pantaloons, and boots, or leggings. Winter +garments are of deer skin with its hair remaining, but summer clothing +is of dressed skins alone. These natives appear below the ordinary +stature, and their legs seemed to me very small. Ethnologists are +divided concerning the origin of the Koriaks, some assigning them to +the Mongol race and others to the Esquimaux. The Koriaks express no +opinion on the disputed point, and have none.</p> + +<p>Both sexes dress alike, and wear ornaments of beads in their ears. +They have a curious custom of shaving the back part of the head, <i>a la +moine</i>. Fashion is as arbitrary among the Koriaks as in Paris or New +York, and dictates the cut of garments and the style of hair dressing +with unyielding severity.</p> + +<p>Like savages everywhere, these natives manifest a fondness for +civilized attire. A party visited the Clara Bell and obtained some +American clothing. One man sported a cast-off suit, in which he +appeared as uneasy as an organ grinder’s monkey in a new coat. Another +wore a sailor’s jacket from the Variag, and sported the number ‘19’ +with manifest pride. A third had a fatigue cap, bearing the letters +‘U.S.’ in heavy brass, the rest of his costume being thoroughly +aboriginal. One old fellow had converted an empty meat can into a hat +without removing the printed label “stewed beef.” I gave him a pair of +dilapidated gloves, which he donned at once.</p> + +<p>The Koriaks are of two kinds, wandering and settled. The wanderers +have great numbers of reindeer, and lead a migratory life in finding +pasturage for their herds. The settled Koriaks are those who have lost +their deer and been forced to locate where they can subsist by +fishing. The former are kind and hospitable; the latter generally the +reverse. Poverty has made them selfish, as it has made many a white +man. All are honest to a degree unusual among savages. When Major +Abasa traveled among them in the winter of 1865, they sometimes +refused compensation for their services, and were scrupulously careful +to guard the property of their guests. Once the Major purposely left +some trivial articles. The next day a native brought them forward, and +was greatly astonished when pay was offered for his trouble.</p> + +<p>“This is your property,” was the response; “we could not keep it in +our tents, and it was our duty to bring it to you.”</p> + +<p>The wandering Koriaks estimate property in deer as our Indians count +in horses. It is only among the thousands that wealth is eminently +respectable. Some Koriaks own ten or twelve thousand deer, and one +fortunate native is the possessor of forty thousand in his own name, +(O-gik-a-mu-tik.) Though the wealthiest of his tribe, he does not +drive fast horses, and never aspired to a seat in Congress. How much +he has missed of real life!</p> + +<p>Reindeer form the circulating medium, and all values are expressed in +this four-footed currency. The animal supplies nearly every want. They +eat his meat and pick his bones, and not only devour the meat, but the +stomach, entrails, and their contents. When they stew the mass of meat +and half digested moss, the stench is disgusting. Captain Kennan told +me that when he arrived among the Koriaks the peculiar odor made him +ill, and he slept out of doors with the thermometer at -35° rather +than enter a tent where cooking was in progress.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm089-1.gif' id='sm089-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>KORIAK YOURT.</p> +</div> + +<p>The Koriaks build their summer dwellings of light poles covered with +skin, or bark. Their winter habitations are of logs covered with earth +and partly sunk into the ground, the crevices being filled with moss. +The summer dwellings are called <i>balagans</i>, and the winter ones +<i>yourts</i>, but the latter name is generally applied to both. A winter +yourt has a hole in the top, which serves for both chimney and door. +The ladder for the descent is a hewn stick, with holes for one’s feet, +and leans directly over the fire. Whatever the outside temperature, +the yourt is suffocatingly hot within, and no fresh air can enter +except through the top. When a large fire is burning and a thick +volume of smoke pours out, the descent is very disagreeable. Russians +and other white men, even after long practice, never attempt it +without a shudder.</p> + +<p>The yourt is generally circular or oblong, and its size is +proportioned to the family of the owner. The fire is in the center, +and the sleeping apartments are ranged around the walls. These +apartments, called ‘polags,’ are about six feet square and four or +five high, partitioned with light poles and skin curtains. Owing to +the high temperature the natives sleep entirely naked. Sometimes in +the coldest nights their clothing is hung out of doors to rid it of +certain parasites not unknown in civilization. Benumbed with, frost, +the insects lose their hold and fall into the snow, to the great +comfort of those who nursed and fed them. The body of a Koriak, +considered as a microcosm, is remarkably well inhabited.</p> + +<p>Captain Kennan gave me a graphic description of the Koriak marriage +ceremonial. The lover must labor for the loved one’s father, not less +than one nor more than five years. No courtship is allowed during this +period, and the young man must run the risk of his love being +returned. The term of service is fixed by agreement between the stern +parent and the youth.</p> + +<p>At an appointed day the family and friends are assembled in a yourt, +the old women being bridesmaids. The bride is placed in one polag and +the bridegroom in the next. At a given signal a race commences, the +bride leading. Each must enter every polag, and the man must catch his +prize in a specified way before she makes the circuit of the yourt.</p> + +<p>The bridesmaids, armed with long switches, offer every assistance to +the woman and equal hindrance to the man. For her they lift the +curtains of the polags, but hold them down against her pursuer and +pound him with their switches. Unless she stops voluntarily it is +utterly impossible to overtake her within the circuit. If she is not +overtaken the engagement is ‘off,’ and the man must retire or serve +again for the privilege of another love chase. Generally the pursuit +is successful; the lover doubtless knows the temper of the lovee +before becoming her father’s apprentice. But coquettes are not +unknown in Koriakdom, and the pursuing youths are sometimes left in +the lurch—or the polags.</p> + +<p>Should the lover overtake the maiden, before making the circuit, both +remain seven days and nights in a polag. Their food is given them +under the curtain during that period, and they cannot emerge for any +purpose whatever. The bridesmaids then perform a brief but touching +ceremonial, and the twain are pronounced one flesh.</p> + +<p>Northeast of Ghijiga is the country of the Chukchees, a people +formerly hostile to the Koriaks. The feuds are not entirely settled, +but the ill feeling has diminished and both parties maintain a +dignified reserve. The Chukchees are hunters and traders, and have +large herds of reindeer but very few dogs. They are the most warlike +of these northern races, and long held the Russians at bay. They go +far from shore with their <i>baydaras</i>, or seal skin boats, visiting +islands along the coast, and frequently crossing to North America. +Their voyages are of a mercantile character, the Chukchee buying at +the Russian towns and selling his goods among the Esquimaux.</p> + +<p>At Ghijiga I made a short voyage in a baydara. The frame appeared very +fragile, and the seal skin covering displayed several leaks. I was +unwilling to risk myself twenty feet from land, but after putting me +ashore the Koriak boatman pulled fearlessly into the bay.</p> + +<p>The Chukchee trader has a crew of his own race to paddle his light +canoe. Occasionally the baydaras are caught in storms and must be +lightened. I have the authority of Major Abasa that in such case the +merchant keeps his cargo and throws overboard his crew. Goods and furs +are costly, but men are cheap and easily replaced. The crew is +entirely reconciled to the state of affairs, and drowns itself with +that resignation known only to pagans.</p> + +<p>“But,” I asked, “do not the men object to this kind of jettison?”</p> + +<p>“I believe not,” was the major’s reply; “they are only discharging +their duty to their employer. They go over the side just as they would +step from an over-laden sledge.”</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm092-1.gif' id='sm092-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>DISCHARGING A DECK LOAD.</p> +</div> + +<p>I next inquired if the trader did not first throw out the men to whom +he was most indebted, but could not obtain information on that point. +It is probable that with an eye to business he disposes promptly of +his creditors and keeps debtors to the last. What a magnificent system +of squaring accounts!</p> + +<p>The Chukchees have mingled much with whalemen along Anadyr Bay and the +Arctic Ocean, and readily adopt the white man’s vices. They drink +whisky without fear, and will get very drunk if permitted. When +Captain Macrae’s telegraph party landed at the mouth of the Anadyr the +natives supposed the provision barrels were full of whisky, and became +very importunate for something to drink. The captain made a mixture of +red pepper and vinegar, which he palmed off as the desired article. +All were pleased with it, and the hotter it was the better.</p> + +<p>One native complained that its great heat burned the skin from his +throat before he could swallow enough to secure intoxication. The fame +of this whisky was wide-spread. Captain Kennan said he heard at +Anadyrsk and elsewhere of its wonderful strength, and was greatly +amused when he arrived at Macrae’s and heard the whole story.</p> + +<p>Many of these natives have learned English from whalemen and speak +enough to be understood. Gov. Bilzukavitch visited Anadyrsk in the +spring of 1866, and met there a Chukchee chief. Neither spoke the +other’s language, and so the governor called his Koriak servant. The +same dilemma occurred, as each was ignorant of the other’s vernacular. +There was an awkward pause until it was discovered that both Koriak +and Chukchee could speak English. Business then proceeded without +difficulty.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm093-1.gif' id='sm093-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>REINDEER RIDE.</p> +</div> + +<p>Among the Chukchees a deer can be purchased for a pound of tobacco, +but the price increases as one travels southward. With the Koriaks it +is four or five roubles, at Ohotsk ten or fifteen, and on the banks of +the Amoor not often less than fifty. South of the Amoor the reindeer +is not a native. I am inclined to discredit marry stories of the +wonderful swiftness of this animal. He sometimes performs remarkable +journeys, but ordinarily he is outstripped by a good dog team. +Reindeer have the advantage of finding their food under the snow, +while provision for dogs must be carried on the sledge. When turned +out in winter, the deer digs beneath the snow and seeks his food +without troubling his master. The American sailors when they have +liberty on shore in these northern regions, invariably indulge in +reindeer rides, to the disgust of the animals and their owners. The +deer generally comes to a halt in the first twenty yards, and nothing +less than building a fire beneath him can move him from his tracks.</p> + +<p>There is a peculiar mushroom in Northeastern Siberia spotted like a +leopard and surmounted with a small hood. It grows in other parts of +Russia, where it is poisonous, but among the Koriaks it is simply +intoxicating. When one finds a mushroom of this kind he can sell it +for three or four reindeer. So powerful is this fungus that the +fortunate native who eats it remains drunk for several days. By a +process of transmission which I will not describe, as it might offend +fastidious persons, half a dozen individuals may successively enjoy +the effects of a single mushroom, each of them in a less degree than +his predecessor.</p> + +<p>Like savages every where, these northern natives are greatly pleased +with pictures and study them attentively. I heard that several copies +of American illustrated papers were circulating among the Chukchees, +who handled them with great care. There is a superstitious reverence +for pictures mingled with childlike curiosity. People possessing no +written language find the pictorial representations of the civilized +world the nearest approach to savage hieroglyphics.</p> + +<p>The telegraph was an object of great wonder to all the natives. In +Ghijiga a few hundred yards of wire were put up in the spring of 1866. +Crowds gathered to see the curiosity, and many messages were exchanged +to prove that the machine really spoke. At Anadyrsk Captain Kennan +arranged a small battery and held in his pocket the key that +controlled the circuit. Then the marvel began. The instrument told +when persons entered or left the room, when any thing was taken from +the table without permission, or any impropriety committed. Even +covered with a piece of deer skin, it could see distinctly. With the +human tendency to ascribe to the devil anything not understood, these +natives looked upon the telegraph as supernatural. As it showed no +desire to harm them, they exhibited no fear but abundance of respect.</p> + +<p>The Chukchees and Koriaks are creditable workers in metals and ivory. +I saw animal representations rudely but well cut in ivory, and +spear-heads that would do credit to any blacksmith. Their hunting +knives, made from hoop-iron, are well fashioned, and some of the +handles are tastefully inlaid with copper, brass, and silver. In +trimming their garments they are very skillful, and cut bits of +deerskin into various fantastic shapes.</p> + +<p>At Ghijiga I bought a kotlanka, intending to wear it in my winter +travel. Its sleeves were purposely very long, and the hood had a wide +fringe of dogskin to shield the face. I could never put the thing on +with ease, and ultimately sold it to a curiosity hunter. Gloves and +mittens, lined with squirrel skin, are made at Ghijiga, and worn in +all the region within a thousand miles.</p> + +<p>A great hindrance to winter travel in Northeastern Siberia is the +prevalence of <i>poorgas</i>, or snow storms with wind. On the bleak +tundras where there is no shelter, the poorgas sweep with pitiless +severity. Some last but a few hours, with the thermometer ten or +twenty degrees below zero. Sometimes the wind takes up whole masses of +snow and forms drifts several feet deep in a few moments. Travelers, +dogs, and sledges are frequently buried out of sight, and remain in +the snow till the storm is over.</p> + +<p>Dogs begin to howl at the approach of a poorga, long before men can +see any indication of it. They display a tendency to burrow in the +snow if the wind is cold and violent. Poorgas do not occur at regular +intervals, but are most prevalent in February and March.</p> + +<p>A few years ago a party of Koriaks crossing the great tundra north of +Kamchatka encountered a severe storm. It was of unusual violence, and +soon compelled a halt. Dogs and men burrowed into the snow to wait the +end of the gale. Unfortunately they halted in a wide hollow that, +unperceived by the party, filled with a deep drift. The snow contains +so much air that it is not difficult to breathe in it at a +considerable depth, and the accumulation of a few feet is not +alarming. Hour after hour passed, and the place grew darker, till two +men of the party thought it well to look outside. Digging to the +surface, the depth proved much greater than expected.</p> + +<p>Quite exhausted with their labor, they gained the open air, and found +the storm had not ceased. Alarmed for their companions they tried to +reach them, but the hole where they ascended was completely filled. +The snow drifted rapidly, and they were obliged to change their +position often to keep near the surface. When the poorga ended they +estimated it had left fifty feet of snow in that spot.</p> + +<p>Again endeavoring to rescue their companions, and in their weak +condition finding it impossible, they sought the nearest camp. In the +following summer the remains of men and dogs were found where the +melting snow left them. They had huddled close together, and probably +perished from suffocation.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_096'></a> +<img src="images/sm096-1.gif" id='sm096-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE, REINDEER" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_VIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>We remained four days at Ghijiga and then sailed for Ohotsk. For two +days we steamed to get well out of the bay, and then stopped the +engines aird depended upon canvas. A boy who once offered a dog for +sale was asked the breed of the pup.</p> + +<p>“He <i>was</i> a pointer,” replied the youth; “but father cut off his ears +and tail last week and made a bull-dog of him.”</p> + +<p>Lowering the chimney and hoisting the screw, the Yariag became a +sailing ship, though her steaming propensities remained, just as the +artificial bull-dog undoubtedly retained the pointer instinct. The +ship had an advantage over the animal in her ability to resume her old +character at pleasure.</p> + +<p>On the fourth day, during a calm, we were surrounded by sea-gulls like +those near San Francisco. We made deep sea soundings and obtained +specimens of the bottom from depths of two or three hundred fathoms. +Near the entrance of Ghijiga Bay we brought up coral from eighty +fathoms of water, and refuted the theory that coral grows only in the +tropics and at a depth of less than two hundred feet. The specimens +were both white and red, resembling the moss-like sprigs often seen in +museums. The temperature of the water was 47° Fahrenheit. Captain Lund +told me coral had been found in the Ohotsk sea in latitude 55° in a +bed of considerable extent.</p> + +<p>Every day when calm we made soundings, which were carefully recorded +for the use of Russian chart makers. Once we found that the +temperature of the bottom at a depth of two hundred fathoms, was at +the freezing point of water. The doctor proposed that a bottle of +champagne should be cooled in the marine refrigerator. The bottle was +attached to the lead and thrown overboard.</p> + +<p>“I send champagne to Neptune,” said the doctor. “He drink him and he +be happy.”</p> + +<p>When the lead returned to the surface it came alone. Neptune drank the +champagne and retained the bottle as a souvenir.</p> + +<p>One day the sailors caught a gull and painted it red. When the bird +was released he greatly alarmed his companions, and as long as we +could see them, they shunned his society. At least eighty miles from +land we had a dozen sparrows around us at once. A small hawk seized +one of these birds and seated himself on a spar for the purpose of +breakfasting. A fowling piece brought him to the deck, where we +examined and pronounced him of the genus <i>Falco</i>, species <i>NISUS</i>, or +in plain English, a sparrow hawk. During the day we saw three +varieties of small birds, one of them resembling the American robin. +The sailors caught two in their hands, and released them without +injury.</p> + +<p>Approaching Ohotsk a fog bank shut out the land for an hour or two, +and when it lifted we discovered the harbor. A small sand-bar +intervened between the ocean and the town, but did not intercept the +view. As at Petropavlovsk, the church was the most prominent object +and formed an excellent landmark. With my glass I surveyed the line of +coast where the surf was breaking, but was long unable to discover an +entering place. The Ohota river is the only harbor, and entirely +inaccessible to a ship like the Variag.</p> + +<p>Descending the ship’s side after we anchored, I jumped when the boat +was falling and went down five or six feet before alighting. Both +hands were blistered as the gang-way ropes passed through them. +Keeping the beacons carefully in line, we rolled over the bar on the +top of a high wave, and then followed the river channel to the +landing.</p> + +<p>Many years ago Ohotsk was the most important Russian port on the +waters leading to the Pacific. Supplies for Kamchatka and Russian +America were brought overland from Yakutsk and shipped to +Petropavlovsk, Sitka, and other points under Russian control. Many +ships for the Pacific Ocean and Ohotsk sea were built there. I was +shown the spot where Bering’s vessel was constructed, with its cordage +and extra sails of deerskin, and its caulking of moss. Billings’ +expedition in a ship called Russia’s Glory, was organized here for an +exploration of the Arctic ocean. At one time the Government had +foundries and workshops at Ohotsk. The shallowness of water on the bar +was a great disadvantage, as ships drawing more than twelve feet were +unable to enter. Twenty years ago the government abandoned Ohotsk for +Ayan, and when the Amoor was opened it gave up the latter place. The +population, formerly exceeding two thousand, is now less than two +hundred.</p> + +<p>We landed on a gravelly beach, where we were met by a crowd of +Cossacks and “Lamuti.” The almond-shaped eyes and high cheek bones of +the latter betray their Mongolian origin. As I walked among them each +hailed me with <i>sdrastveteh</i>, the Russian for ‘good-morning.’ I +endeavored to reply with the same word, but my pronunciation was far +from accurate. Near these natives there were several Yakuts and +Tunguze, with physiognomies unlike the others. The Russian empire +contains more races of men than any rival government, and we +frequently find the population of a single locality made up from two +or more branches of the human family. In this little town with not +more than ten or twelve dozens of inhabitants, there were +representatives of the Slavonic, the Tartar, and the Mongolian races.</p> + +<p>We found Captain Mahood, of the Telegraph service, in a quiet +residence, where he had passed the summer in comparative idleness. He +had devoted himself to exploring the country around Ohotsk and +studying the Russian language. “We don’t expect to starve at present,” +said the captain; “Providence sends us fish, the emperor sends us +flour, and the merchants furnish tea and sugar. We have lived so long +on a simple bill of fare that we are almost unfitted for any other.”</p> + +<p>We had a lunch of dried fish, tea, whisky, and cigars, and soon after +went to take tea at a house where most of the Variag’s officers were +assembled. The house was the property of three brothers, who conducted +the entire commerce of Ohotsk. The floor of the room where we were +feasted was of hewn plank, fastened with enormous nails, and appeared +able to resist anything short of an earthquake. The windows were +double to keep out the winter’s cold, but on that occasion they +displayed a profusion of flower pots. The walls were papered, and many +pictures were hung upon them. Every part of the room was scrupulously +clean.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg100-1.gif' id='lg100-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +WAGON RIDE WITH DOGS. +</div> + +<p>Three ladies were seated on a sofa, and a fourth occupied a chair near +them. The three were the wives of the merchant brothers, and the +fourth a visiting friend. One with black eyes and hair was dressed +tastefully and even elaborately. The eldest, who acted as hostess, was +in black, and her case in receiving visitors would have done credit to +a society dame in St. Petersburg. By way of commencement we had tea +and <i>nalifka</i>, the latter a kind of currant wine of local manufacture +and very well flavored. They gave us corned beef and bread, each +person taking his plate upon his knee as at an American pic-nic, and +after two or three courses of edibles we had coffee and cigarettes, +the latter from a manufactory at Yakutsk. According to Russian +etiquette each of us thanked the hostess for her courtesy.</p> + +<p>Out in the broad street there were many dogs lying idle in the +sunshine or biting each other. A small wagon with a team of nine dogs +carried a quantity of tea and sugar from the Variag’s boats to a +warehouse. When the work was finished I took a ride on the wagon, and +was carried at good speed. I enjoyed the excursion until the vehicle +upset and left me sprawling on the gravel with two or three bruises +and a prejudice against that kind of traveling. By the time I gained +my feet the dogs were disappearing in the distance, and fairly running +away from the driver. Possibly they are running yet.</p> + +<p>An old weather beaten church and equally old barracks are near each +other, an appropriate arrangement in a country where church and state +are united. The military garrison includes thirty Cossacks, who are +under the orders of the Ispravnik. They row the pilot boat when +needed, travel on courier or other service, guard the warehouses, and +when not wanted by government labor and get drunk for themselves. The +governor was a native of Poland, and it struck me as a curious fact +that the ispravniks of Kamchatka, Ghijiga, and Ohotsk were Poles.</p> + +<p>Cows and dogs are the only stock maintained at Ohotsk. The former live +on grass in summer, and on hay and fish in whiter. Though repeatedly +told that cows and horses in Northeastern Siberia would eat dried fish +with avidity, I was inclined to skepticism. Captain Mahood told me he +had seen them eating fish in winter and appearing to thrive on it. +What was more singular, he had seen a cow eating fresh salmon in +summer when the hills were covered with grass.</p> + +<p>There is a story that Cuvier in a fit of illness, once imagined His +Satanic Majesty standing before him.</p> + +<p>“Ah!” said the great naturalist, “horns, hoofs; graniverous; needn’t +fear him.”</p> + +<p>I wonder if Cuvier knew the taste of the cows at Ohotsk? No ship had +visited Ohotsk for nearly a year before our arrival, though half a +dozen whalers had passed in sight. A steamer goes annually from the +Amoor with a supply of flour and salt on government account. The mail +comes once a year, so that the postmaster has very little to do for +three hundred and sixty-four days. Sometimes the mail misses, and then +people must wait another twelvemonth for their letters. What a nice +residence it would be for a young man whose sweetheart at a distance +writes him every day. He would get three hundred and sixty-five +letters at once, and in the case of a missing mail, seven hundred and +thirty of them.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg102-1.gif' id='lg102-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>YEARLY MAIL.</p></div> + +<p>Bears are quite numerous around Ohotsk, and their dispositions do not +savor of gentleness. Only a few days before our visit a native was +partly devoured within two miles of town.</p> + +<p>Many of the dogs are shrewd enough to catch their own fish, but have +not learned how to cure them for winter use. When at Ohotsk I went to +the bank of the river as the tide was coming in, and watched the dogs +at their work. Wading on the sand bars and mud flats till the water +was almost over their backs, they stood like statues for several +minutes. Waiting till a salmon was fairly within reach, a dog would +snap at him with such accuracy of aim that he rarely missed.</p> + +<p>I kept my eye on a shaggy brute that stood with little more than his +head out of water. His eyes were in a fixed position, and for twelve +or fifteen minutes he did not move a muscle. Suddenly his head +disappeared, and after a brief struggle he came to shore with a +ten-pound salmon in his jaws. None of the cows are skilled in salmon +catching.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg103-1.gif' id='lg103-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>DOGS FISHING.</p></div> + +<p>Two or three years ago a mail carrier from Ayan to Yakutsk was visited +by a bear during a night halt. The mail bag was lying by a tree a few +steps from the Cossack, and near the bank of a brook. The bear seized +and opened the pouch, regardless of the government seal on the +outside. After turning the letter package several times in his paws, +he tossed it into the brook. The Cossack discharged his pistol to +frighten the bear, and then fished the letters from the water. It is +proper to say the package was addressed to an officer somewhat famous +for his bear-hunting proclivities.</p> + +<p>When we left Ohotsk at the close of day, we took Captain Mahood and +the governor to dine with us, and when our guests departed we hoisted +anchor and steamed away. Captain Lund burned a blue light as a +farewell signal, and we could see an answering fire on shore. Our +course lay directly southward, and when our light was extinguished we +were barely visible through the distance and gloom.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>“But true to our course, though our shadow grow dark,<br /></span> +<span>We’ll trim our broad sail as before;<br /></span> +<span>And stand by the rudder that governs the bark,<br /></span> +<span>Nor ask how we look from the shore.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_IX'></a><h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2></div> + + +<p>On the Ohotsk Sea we had calms with light winds, and made very slow +progress. One day while the men were exercising at the guns, the look +out reported a sail. We were just crossing the course from Ayan to +Ghijiga, and were in the Danzig’s track. The strange vessel shortened +sail and stood to meet us, and before long we were satisfied it was +our old acquaintance. At sunset we were several miles apart and +nearing very slowly. The night was one of the finest I ever witnessed +at sea; the moon full and not a cloud visible, and the wind carrying +us four or five miles an hour. The brig was lying to, and we passed +close under her stern, shortening our sail as we approached her. +Everybody was on deck and curious to learn the news.</p> + +<p>“SDRASTVETEH,” shouted Captain Lund when we were in hearing distance.</p> + +<p>“SDRASTVETEH,” responded the clear voice of Phillipeus; and then +followed the history of the Danzig’s voyage.</p> + +<p>“We had a good voyage to Ayan, and staid there four days. We are five +days out, and passed through a heavy gale on the second day. Going to +Ghijiga.”</p> + +<p>Then we replied with the story of our cruise and asked for news from +Europe.</p> + +<p>“War in progress. France and Austria against Prussia, Italy, and +Russia. No particulars.”</p> + +<p>By this time the ships were separated and our conversation ended. It +was conducted in Russian, but I knew enough of the language to +comprehend what was said. There was a universal “eh!” of astonishment +as the important sentence was completed.</p> + +<p>Here were momentous tidings; France and Russia taking part in a war +that was not begun when I left America. A French fleet was in Japanese +waters and might be watching for us. It had two ships, either of them +stronger than the Variag.</p> + +<p>As the Danzig disappeared we went below. “I hoped to go home at the +end of this voyage,” said the captain as we seated around his table; +“but we must now remain in the Pacific. War has come and may give us +glory or the grave; possibly both.”</p> + +<p>For an hour we discussed the intelligence and the probabilities of its +truth. As we separated, Captain Lund repeated with emphasis his +opinion that the news was false.</p> + +<p>“I do not believe it,” said he; “but I must prepare for any +emergency.”</p> + +<p>In the wardroom the officers were exultant over the prospect of +promotion and prize money. The next day the men were exercised at the +guns, and for the rest of the voyage they could not complain of ennui. +The deck was cleared of all superfluous rubbish, and we were ready for +a battle. The shotted case for the signal books was made ready, and +other little preparations attended to. I seemed carried back to my +days of war, and had vivid recollections of being stormed at with shot +and shell.</p> + +<p>From Ohotsk to the mouth of the Amoor is a direct course of about four +hundred miles. A light draught steamer would have made short work of +it, but we drew too much water to enter the northern passage. So we +were forced to sail through La Perouse Straits and up the Gulf of +Tartary to De Castries Bay. The voyage was more than twelve hundred +miles in length, and had several turnings. It was like going from New +York to Philadelphia through Harrisburg, or from Paris to London +through Brussels and Edinboro’.</p> + +<p>A good wind came to our relief and took us rapidly through La Perouse +straits. There is a high rock in the middle of the passage covered +with sea-lions, like those near San Francisco. In nearly all weather +the roaring of these creatures can be heard, and is a very good +substitute for a fog-bell. I am not aware that any government allows a +subsidy to the sea-lions.</p> + +<p>We saw the northern coast of Japan and the southern end of Sakhalin, +both faint and shadowy in the fog and distance. The wind freshened to +a gale, and we made twelve knots an hour under double reefed mainsails +and topsails. In the narrow straits we escaped the heavy waves +encountered at sea in a similar breeze. Turning at right angles in the +Gulf of Tartary, we began to roll until walking was no easy matter. +The wind abated so that by night we shook out our reefs and spread the +royals and to’gallant sails to keep up our speed.</p> + +<p>As we approached De Castries the question of war was again discussed.</p> + +<p>“If I find only one French ship there,” said the captain, “I shall +proceed. If there are two I cannot fight them, and must run to San +Francisco or some other neutral port.”</p> + +<p>Just then San Francisco was the last place I desired to visit, but I +knew I must abide the fortunes of war. We talked of the possibility of +convincing a French captain that we were engaged in an international +enterprise, and therefore not subject to capture. Anossoff joined me +in arranging a plan to cover contingencies.</p> + +<p>As we approached De Castries we could see the spars of a large ship +over the islands at the entrance of the harbor. A moment later she was +announced.</p> + +<p>“A corvette, with steam up.”</p> + +<p>She displayed her flag—an English one. As we dropped anchor in the +harbor a boat came to us, and an officer mounted the side and +descended to the cabin. The ship proved to be the British Corvette +Scylla, just ready to sail for Japan. Escaping her we did not +encounter Charybdis. The mission of the Scylla was entirely pacific, +and her officer informed us there had been war between Prussia and +Austria, but at last accounts all Europe was at peace. The war of +1866 was finished long before I knew of its commencement.</p> + +<p>De Castries Bay is on the Gulf of Tartary, a hundred and thirty-five +miles from Nicolayevsk. La Perouse discovered and surveyed it in 1787, +and named it in honor of the French Minister of Marine. It is in Lat. +51° 28′ N., Lon. 140° 49′ E., and affords good and safe anchorage. +Near the entrance are several islands, which protect ships anchored +behind them. The largest of these islands is occupied as a warehouse +and coal depot, and has an observatory and signal station visible from +the Gulf. The town is small, containing altogether less than fifty +buildings. It is a kind of ocean port to Nicolayevsk and the Amoor +river, but the settlement was never a flourishing one.</p> + +<p>Twelve miles from the landing is the end of Lake Keezee, which opens +into the Amoor a hundred and fifty miles from its mouth. It was +formerly the custom to send couriers by way of Lake Keezee and the +Amoor to Nicolayevsk to notify consigners and officials of the arrival +of ships. Now the telegraph is in operation and supercedes the +courier.</p> + +<p>In 1855 an English fleet visited De Castries in pursuit of some +Russian vessels known to have ascended the Gulf. When the fleet came +in sight there were four Russian ships in port, and a few shots were +exchanged, none of them taking effect. During a heavy fog in the +following night and day the Russians escaped and ascended the Straits +of Tartary toward the Amoor. The Aurora, the largest of these ships, +threw away her guns, anchors, and every heavy article, and succeeded +in entering the Amoor. The English lay near De Castries, and could not +understand where the Russians had gone, as the southern entrance of +the Amoor was then unknown to geographers.</p> + +<p>We reached this port on the morning of September eleventh. The Variag +could go no further owing to her draft of water, but fortunately the +Morje, a gunboat of the Siberian fleet, was to sail for Nicolayevsk at +noon, and we were happily disappointed in our expectations of waiting +several days at De Castries. About eleven o’clock I left the Variag +and accompanied Captain Lund, the doctor, and Mr. Anassoff into the +boat dancing at the side ladder. Half an hour after we boarded the +Morje she was under way, and we saw the officers and men of the +corvette waving us farewell.</p> + +<p>The Morje drew eight feet of water, and was admirably adapted to the +sea coast service. There were several vessels of this class in the +Siberian fleet, and their special duty was to visit the ports of +Kamchatka, North Eastern Siberia, and Manjouria, and act as tow boats +along the Straits of Tartary. The officers commanding them are sent +from Russia, and generally remain ten years in this service. At the +end of that time, if they wish to retire they can do so and receive +half-pay for the rest of their lives. This privilege is not granted to +officers in other squadrons, and is given on the Siberian station in +consequence of the severer duties and the distance from the centers of +civilization.</p> + +<p>In its military service the government makes inducements of pay and +promotion to young officers who go to Siberia. I frequently met +officers who told me they had sought appointments in the Asiatic +department in preference to any other. The pay and allowances are +better than in European Russia, promotion is more rapid, and the +necessities of life are generally less costly. Duties are more onerous +and privations are greater, but these drawbacks are of little +consequence to an enterprising and ambitious soldier.</p> + +<p>The Morje had no accommodations for passengers, and the addition to +her complement was something serious. Captain Lund, the doctor, Mr. +Anassoff, and myself were guests of her captain. The cabin was given +to us to arrange as best we could. My proposal to sleep under the +table was laughed at as impracticable. I knew what I was about, having +done the same thing years before on Mississippi steamers. When you +must sleep on the floor where people may walk about, always get under +the table if possible. You run less risk of receiving boot heels in +your mouth and eyes, and whole acres of brogans in your ribs. The +navigation of the Straits of Tartary is very intricate, the water +being shallow and the channel tortuous. From De Castries to Cape +Catherine there is no difficulty, but beyond the cape the channel +winds like the course of the Ohio, and at many points bends quite +abruptly. The government has surveyed and buoyed it with considerable +care, so that a good pilot can take a light draught steamer from De +Castries to Nicolayevsk in twelve or fifteen hours. Sailing ships are +greatly retarded by head winds and calms, and often spend weeks on the +voyage. In 1857 Major Collins was nineteen days on the barque Bering +from one of these ports to the other.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg109-1.gif' id='lg109-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>TEACHINGS OF EXPERIENCE.</p></div> + +<p>In the straits we passed four vessels, one of them thirty days from De +Castries and only half through the worst of the passage. The water +shoals so rapidly in some places that it is necessary to sound on both +sides of the ship at once. Vessels drawing less than ten feet can pass +to the Ohotsk sea around the northern end of Sakhalin island, but the +channel is even more crooked than the southern one.</p> + +<p>We anchored at sunset, and did not move till daybreak. At the hour of +sunset, on this vessel as on the corvette, we had the evening chant of +the service of the Eastern church. While it was in progress a sentinel +on duty over the cabin held his musket in his left hand and made the +sign of the cross with his right. Soldier and Christian at the same +moment, he observed the outward ceremonial of both. The crew, with +uncovered beads, stood upon the deck and chanted the prayer. As the +prayer was uttered the national flag, lowered from the mast, seemed, +like those beneath it, to bow in adoration of the Being who holds the +waters in the hollow of His hand, and guides and controls the +universe.</p> + +<p>While passing the straits of Tartary we observed a mirage of great +beauty, that pictured the shores of Sakhalin like a tropical scene. We +seemed to distinguish cocoa and palm trees, dark forests and waving +fields of cane, along the rocky shores, that were really below the +horizon. Then there were castles, with lofty walls and frowning +battlements, cloud-capped towers, gorgeous palaces, and solemn +temples, rising among the fields and forests, and overarched with +curious combinations of rainbow hues. The mirage frequently occurs in +this region, but I was told it rarely attained such beauty as on that +occasion.</p> + +<p>Sakhalin island, which separates the Gulf of Tartary from the Ohotsk +sea, extends through nine degrees of latitude and belongs partly to +Russia and partly to Japan. The Japanese have settlements in the +Southern portion, engaging in trade with the natives and catching and +curing fish. The natives are of Tunguze origin, like those of the +lower Amoor, and subsist mainly upon fish. The Russians have +settlements at Cape Dui, where there is excellent coal in veins +eighteen feet thick and quite near the coast. Russia desired the +entire island, but the Japanese positively refuse to negotiate. Some +years ago the Siberian authorities established a colony near the +Southern extremity, but its existence was brief.</p> + +<p>At three o’clock in the afternoon of September eleventh we entered the +mouth of the Amoor, the great river of Asiatic Russia. The entrance is +between two Capes or headlands, seven miles apart and two or three +hundred feet high. The southern one, near which we passed, is called +Cape Pronge, and has a Gilyak village at its base. Below this cape the +hills border the Gulf and frequently show precipitous sides. The +shallow water at their base renders the land undesirable for +settlement. The timber is small and indicates the severity of the cold +seasons. In their narrowest part the Straits are eight miles wide and +frozen in winter. The natives have a secure bridge of ice for at least +four months of the year. De Castries Bay is generally filled with ice +and unsafe for vessels from October to March.</p> + +<p>From the time we entered the Gulf of Tartary the water changed its +color, growing steadily dirtier until we reached the Amoor. At the +mouth of the river I found it a weak tea complexion, like the Ohio at +its middle stage, and was told that it varied through all the shades +common to rivers according to its height and the circumstances of +season. I doubt if it ever assumes the hue of the Missouri or the +Sacramento, though it is by no means impossible.</p> + +<p>Passing Cape Pronge and looking up the river, a background of hills +and mountains made a fine landscape with beautiful lights and shadows +from the afternoon sun. The channel is marked with stakes and buoys +and with beacons along the shore. The pilots when steering frequently +turned their backs to the bow of the steamer and watched the beacons +over the stern. As we approached Nicolayevsk there was a mirage that +made the ships in port appear as if anchored in the town itself.</p> + +<p>We passed Chinyrack, the fortress that guards the river, and is +surrounded, as if for concealment, with a grove of trees. Along the +bank above Chinyrack there are warehouses of various kinds, all +belonging to government. Soon after dark we anchored before the town, +and below several other vessels. My sea travel was ended till I should +reach Atlantic waters.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_X'></a><h2>CHAPTER X.</h2></div> + + +<p>At Nicolayevsk it is half a mile from the anchorage to the shore. A +sand spit projects from the lower end of the town and furnishes a site +for government workshops and foundries. Above this tongue of land the +water is shallow and allows only light draft and flat bottomed boats +to come to the piers. All sea-going vessels remain, in midstream, +where they are discharged by lighters. There is deeper water both +above and below the town, and I was told that a change of site had +been meditated. The selection of the spot where Nicolayevsk stands was +owing to the advantages of the sand spit as a protection to river +boats.</p> + +<p>After dining on the Morje we went on shore, and landed at a flight of +wooden steps in the side of a pier. The piers of Nicolayevsk are +constructed with ‘cribs’ about twenty feet apart and strong timbers +connecting them. The flooring was about six feet above water, and wide +enough for two teams to pass.</p> + +<p>Turning to the left at the end of the pier, we found a plank sidewalk +ascending a sloping road in the hillside. The pier reminded me of +Boston or New York, but it lacked the huge warehouses and cheerful +hackmen to render the similarity complete. “This is Natchez, +Mississippi,” I said as we moved up the hill, “and this is Cairo, +Illinois,” as my feet struck the plank sidewalk. The sloping road came +to an end sooner than at Natchez, and the sidewalk did not reveal any +pitfalls like those in Cairo a few years ago. The bluff where the city +stands is about fifty feet high, and the ascent of the road so gentle +that one must be very weak to find it fatiguing. The officers who +came on shore with me went to the club rooms to pass the evening. I +sought the residence of Mr. H.G.O. Chase, the Commercial Agent of the +United States, and representative of the house of Boardman. I found +him living very comfortably in bachelor quarters that contained a +library and other luxuries of civilization. In his sitting-room there +was a map of the Russian empire and one of Boston, and there were +lithographs and steel engravings, exhibiting the good taste of the +owner.</p> + +<p>Rising early the next morning, I began a study of the town. +Nicolayevsk was founded in 1853 in the interest of the Russian +government, but nominally as a trading post of the Russian American +Company. Very soon it became a military post, and its importance +increased with the commencement of hostilities between Russia and the +Western powers in 1854. Foundries were established, fortifications +built, warehouses erected, and docks laid out from time to time, until +the place has attained a respectable size. Its population in 1866 was +about five thousand, with plenty of houses for all residents.</p> + +<p>Nicolayevsk is emphatically a government town, five-sixths of the +inhabitants being directly or indirectly in the emperor’s employ. +“What is this building?” I asked, pointing to a neat house on the +principal street. “The residence of the Admiral,” was the reply.</p> + +<p>“And this?”</p> + +<p>“That is the Chancellerie.”</p> + +<p>“And this?”</p> + +<p>“The office of the Captain of the Port.”</p> + +<p>So I questioned till three-fourths the larger and better +establishments had been indicated. Nearly all were in some way +connected with government. Many of the inhabitants are employed in the +machine shops, others in the arsenals and warehouses, and a goodly +number engage in soldiering. The multitude of whisky shops induces the +belief that the verb ‘to soldier’ is conjugated in all its moods and +tenses. The best part of the town is along its front, where there is +a wide and well made street called ‘the Prospect.’</p> + +<p>The best houses are on the Prospect, and include the residences of the +chief officials and the merchants. On the back streets is the +‘<i>Slobodka</i>,’ or poorer part of the town. Here the laborers of every +kind have their dwellings, and here the <i>lafka</i> is most to be found. +Lafkas are chiefly devoted to liquor selling, and are as numerous in +proportion to the population as beer-shops in Chicago. I explored the +‘<i>slobodka</i>,’ but did not find it attractive. Dogs were as plentiful +and as dubious in breed and character as in the Sixth Ward or near +Castle Garden.</p> + +<p>The church occupies a prominent position in the foreground of the +town, and, like nearly all edifices at Nicolayevsk, is built of logs. +Back of it is the chancellerie, or military and civil office, with a +flag-staff and semaphore for signalling vessels in the harbor. Of +other public buildings I might name the naval office, police office, +telegraph house, and a dozen others.</p> + +<p>On the morning after my arrival I called on Admiral Fulyelm, the +governor of the Maritime Provinces of Eastern Siberia. The region he +controls includes Kamchatka and all the seacoast down to Corea, and +has an area of nearly seven hundred and fifty thousand square miles. +He had been only a few months in command, and was busily at work +regulating his department. He spoke English fluently, and was well +acquainted with America and American affairs. During my voyage on the +Variag I heard much of the charming manners of Madame Fulyelm, and +regretted to learn she was spending the summer in the country.</p> + +<p>The machine shops, foundries, and dock-yard are described in Russian +by the single word ‘port.’ I visited the port of Nicolayevsk and found +it more extensive than one might expect in this new region. There were +machines for rolling, planing, cutting, casting, drilling, hammering, +punching, and otherwise treating and maltreating iron. There were +shops for sawing, planing, polishing, turning, and twisting all sorts +of wood, and there were other shops where copper and brass could take +any coppery or brassy shape desired. To sum up the port in a few +words, its managers can make or repair marine and other engines, and +produce any desired woodwork for house building or ship repairing. +They build ships and equip them with machinery ready for sea.</p> + +<p>The establishment is under the direct supervision of Mr. Woods, an +American citizen of Scotch birth. Mr. Elliott, a Massachusetts Yankee, +and Mr. Laney, an Englishman, are connected with the affair. Mr. +Elliott had become a permanent fixture by marrying a Russian woman and +purchasing a commodious house. The three men appeared to take great +pride in what they had accomplished in perfecting the port.</p> + +<p>It was a little curious to see at the mouth of the Amoor a steam fire +engine from the Amoskeag Works at Manchester, N.H. The engine was +labelled ‘Amoor’ in Russian characters, and appeared to be well +treated. A house was assigned it, and watchmen were constantly on +duty. The whole town being of wood it is highly important that the +engine should act promptly in case of fire. The supply of hose was +ample for all emergencies.</p> + +<p>Several heavy guns were shown me, which were hauled overland from the +Ural Mountains during the Crimean war and brought in boats down the +Amoor. The expense of transporting them must have been enormous, their +journey by roads to the head of the river being fully three thousand +miles.</p> + +<p>I spent a morning with Mr. Chase in calling upon several foreign +merchants and their families. The most prominent of the merchants is +Mr. Ludorf, a German, who went there in 1856, and has transacted a +heavy business on the Amoor and in Japan and China. Mrs. Ludorf +followed her husband in 1858, and was the first foreign lady to enter +Nicolayevsk.</p> + +<p>The most interesting topic to Mr. Chase and the ladies was that of +cooks. Within two weeks there had been much trouble with the <i>chefs de +cuisine</i>, and every housekeeper was in deep grief. Servants are the +universal discomfort from the banks of the Hudson to those of the +Amoor. Man to be happy must return to the primitive stages of society +before cooks and housemaids were invented.</p> + +<p>The hills around Nicolayevsk are covered with forests of small pines. +Timber for house building purposes is rafted from points on the Amoor +where trees are larger. Formerly the town was in the midst of a +forest, but the vicinity is now pretty well cleared. Going back from +the river, the streets begin grandly, and promise a great deal they do +not perform. For one or two squares they are good, the third square is +passable, the fourth is full of stumps, and when you reach the fifth +and sixth, there is little street to be found. I never saw a better +illustration of the road that commenced with a double row of shade +trees, and steadily diminished in character until it became a +squirrel-track and ran up a tree. There is very little agriculture in +the vicinity, the soil and climate being unfavorable. The chief supply +of vegetables comes from the settlements on the south bank of the +river up to Lake Keezee, and along the shores of the lake. All the +ordinary garden vegetables are raised, and in some localities they +attain goodly size.</p> + +<p>Every morning there was a lively scene at the river’s edge in front of +the town. Peasants from the farming settlements were there with +articles for sale, and a vigorous chaffering was in progress. There +were soldiers in grey coats, sailors from the ships in the harbor, +laborers in clothing more or less shabby, and a fair sprinkling of +aboriginals. To an American freshly arrived the natives were quite a +study. They were of the Mongol type, their complexions dark, hair +black, eyes obliquely set, noses flat, and cheek bones high. Most of +them had the hair plaited in a queue after the Chinese fashion. Some +wore boots of untanned skin, and a few had adopted those of Russian +make. They generally wear blouses or frocks after the Chinese pattern, +and the most of them could be readily taken for shabby Celestials.</p> + +<p>Their hats were of two kinds, some of felt and turned up at the sides, +and others of decorated birch bark shaped like a parasol. These hats +were an excellent protection against sun and rain, but could hardly be +trusted in a high wind. All these men were inveterate smokers, and +carried their pipes and tobacco pouches at their waists. Most had +sheath knives attached to belts, and some carried flint, steel, and +tinder. They formed picturesque groups, some talking with purchasers +and others collected around fires or near their piles of fish.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg117-1.gif' id='lg117-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>BOAT LOAD OF SALMON.</p></div> + +<p>As I stood on the bank, a Gilyak boat came near me with a full cargo +of salmon. The boat was built very high at bow and stern, and its +bottom was a single plank, greatly curved. It was propelled by a woman +manipulating a pair of oars with blades shaped like spoon-bowls, +beaten flat, which she pulled alternately with a kind of +‘hand-over-hand’ process. This mode of rowing is universal among the +Gilyaks, but does not prevail with other natives along the Amoor.</p> + +<p>Whenever I approached a group of Gilyaks I was promptly hailed with +‘<i>reba! reba!</i>’ (fish! fish!) I shook my head and uttered <i>nierte</i> +(no,) and our conversation ceased. The salmon were in piles along the +shore or lying in the native boats. Fishing was not a monopoly of the +Gilyaks, as I saw several Russians engaged in the business. They +appeared on the best terms with their aboriginal neighbors.</p> + +<p>Salmon are abundant in the Amoor and as much a necessity of life as in +Northern Siberia. They are not as good as in Kamchatka, and I believe +it is the rule that the salmon deteriorates as one goes toward the +south. Possibly the quality of the Amoor salmon is owing to the time +the fish remain in the brackish waters of the Straits of Tartary. The +fishing season is the only busy portion of the year with the natives.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg118-1.gif' id='lg118-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>AN EFFECTIVE PROTEST.</p></div> + +<p>The town is supplied with water by carts like those used in many +places along our Western rivers. For convenience in filling the driver +goes into the stream until the water is pretty well up his horse’s +sides. A bucket attached to a long handle is used for dipping, and +moves very leisurely. I saw one driver go so far from shore that his +horse protested in dumb but expressive show. The animal turned and +walked to land, over-setting the cart and spilling the driver into the +water. There was a volley of Russian epithets, but the horse did not +observe them. At a photographic establishment I purchased several +views of the city and surrounding region. I sought a watch dealer in +the hope of replacing my broken time piece, but was unsuccessful. I +finally succeeded in purchasing a cheap watch of so curious +workmanship that it ran itself out and utterly stopped within a week.</p> + +<p>One evening in the public garden a military band furnished creditable +music, and I was told that it was formed by selecting men from the +ranks, most of whom had never played a single note on any instrument. +Writers on Russia twenty years ago said that men were frequently +assigned to work they had never seen performed. If men were wanted for +any government service a draft was made, just as for filling the army, +and when the recruits arrived they were distributed. One was detailed +for a blacksmith, and straightway went to his anvil and began. Another +was told to be a machinist, and received his tools. He seated himself +at his bench, watched his neighbor at work, and commenced with little +delay. Another became a glass-blower, another a lapidary, another a +musician, and so on through all the trades.</p> + +<p>I have heard that an Ohio colonel in our late war had a fondness for +never being outdone by rivals. One day his chaplain told him that a +work of grace was going on in the army. “Fifteen men,” said he, “were +baptized last Sunday in Colonel Blank’s regiment, and the reformation +is still going on.” Without replying the colonel called his adjutant.</p> + +<p>“Captain,” was the command, “detail twenty men for baptism at once. I +won’t be outdone by any other —— regiment in the army.”</p> + +<p>Near the river there are several large buildings, formerly belonging +to the Amoor Company, an institution that closed its affairs in the +summer of 1866. After the opening of the Amoor this company was formed +in St. Petersburg with a paid up or guaranteed capital of nearly half +a million pounds sterling. Its object was the control of trade on the +Amoor and its tributaries, and the general development of commerce in +Northern Asia. It began operations in 1858, but was unfortunate from +the beginning. In 1859 it sent out three ships, two of which were lost +between De Castries and Nicolayevsk. Each of them had valuable +cargoes, and the iron and machinery for two river steamers. The third +ship arrived safely, and a steamer which she brought was put together +during the winter. It struck a rock and sunk on its first voyage up +the river. The misfortunes of the company in following years did not +come quite as thick, but their number was ample.</p> + +<p>The company’s dividends were invariably Hibernian. It lost money from +the beginning, and after spending two and a half million dollars, +closed its affairs and went up in a balloon.</p> + +<p>The Russian government has been disappointed in the result of opening +the Amoor. Ten years ago it was thought a great commerce would spring +up, but the result has been otherwise. There can be no traffic where +there are no people to trade with, and when the Amoor was opened the +country was little better than a wilderness. The natives were not a +mercantile community. There was only one Manjour city on the bank of +the Amoor, and for some time its people were not allowed to trade with +Russians. Even when it was opened it had no important commerce, as it +was far removed from the silk, tea, or porcelain districts of China. +Plainly the dependence must be upon colonization.</p> + +<p>The Amoor was peopled under government patronage, many settlers coming +from the Trans-Baikal province, and others from European Russia. +Nearly all were poor and brought very little money to their new homes. +Many were Cossacks and soldiers, and not reconciled to hard labor. +During the first two years of their residence the Amoor colonists were +supplied with flour at government expense, but after that it was +expected they could support themselves. Most of the colonies were half +military in their character, being composed of Cossacks, with their +families. On the lower part of the Amoor, outside the military posts, +the settlers were peasants. Flour was carried from St. Petersburg to +the Amoor to supply the garrison and the newly arrived settlers. The +production is not yet sufficient for the population, and when I was at +Nicolayevsk I saw flour just landed from Cronstadt. The settlers had +generally reached the self-sustaining point, but they did not produce +enough to feed the military and naval force. Until they do this the +Amoor will be unprofitable.</p> + +<p>On the upper Amoor flour was formerly brought from the Trans-Baikal +province to supply the settlements down to Habarofka. In 1866 there +was a short crop in that province and a good one on the upper Amoor. A +large quantity of wheat and rye,—I was told fifty thousand +bushels,—was taken to the Trans-Baikal and sold there. On the whole +the Amoor country is very good for agriculture, and will sustain +itself in time.</p> + +<p>The import trade is chiefly in American and German hands, and +comprises miscellaneous goods, of which they told me at least fifty +per cent. were wines and intoxicating liquors! The Russian emperor +should make intemperance a penal offence and issue an edict against +it.</p> + +<p>A Boston house was the first foreign one opened here, and then came a +German one. Others followed, principally from America, the Sandwich +Islands, Hamburg, and Bremen. Most of the Americans have retired from +the field, two were closing when I was at the Amoor, and Mr. +Boardman’s was the only house in full operation. There were three +German establishments, and another of a German-American character.</p> + +<p>All the cereals can be grown on the Amoor, and the yield is said to be +very good. When its production is developed, wheat can be exported to +China and the Sandwich Islands at a good profit. Until 1864 the +government prohibited the export of timber, although it had +inexhaustible quantities growing on the Amoor and its tributaries. I +saw at Nicolayevsk and elsewhere oak and ash of excellent quality. The +former was not as tough as New England oak, but the ash could hardly +be excelled anywhere, and I was surprised to learn that no one had +attempted its export to California, where good timber for wagons and +similar work is altogether wanting. Pine trees are large, straight, +tough, and good-fibred. They ought to compete in Chinese ports with +pine lumber from elsewhere.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg122-1.gif' id='lg122-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>NOTHING BUT BONES.</p></div> + +<p>There is a peculiar kind of oak, the Maackia, suitable for cabinet +work. Some exports of wool, hides, and tallow have been made, but none +of importance. One cargo of ice has been sent to China, but it melted +on the way from improper packing. A Hong Kong merchant once ordered a +cargo of hams from the Amoor, and when he received it and opened the +barrels he found they contained nothing but bones. As the bone market +was low at that time he did not repeat his order.</p> + +<p>Flax and hemp will grow here, and might become profitable exports. +There is excellent grazing land and no lack of pasturage, but at +present bears make fearful havoc among the cattle and sheep. In some +localities tigers are numerous, particularly among the Buryea +Mountains, where the Cossacks make a profession of hunting them. The +tiger is not likely to become an article of commerce, but on the +contrary is calculated to retard civilization.</p> + +<p>With increased agriculture, pork can be raised and cured, and the +Russians might find it to their advantage to introduce Indian corn, +now almost unknown on the Amoor. At present hogs on the lower Amoor +subsist largely on fish, and the pork has a very unpleasant flavor. +The steward of the Variag told me that in 1865, when at De Castries, +he had two small pigs from Japan. A vessel just from the Amoor had a +large hog which had been purchased at Nicolayevsk.</p> + +<p>The captain of the ship offered his hog for the two pigs, on the plea +that he wished to keep them during his voyage. As the hog was three +times the weight of the pigs the steward gladly accepted the proposal, +and wondered how a man who made so absurd a trade could be captain of +a ship. On killing his prize he found the pork so fishy in flavor that +nobody could eat it. The whole hog went literally to the dogs.</p> + +<p>Nicolayevsk is a free port of entry, and there are no duties upon +merchandise anywhere in Siberia east of Lake Baikal. Since the opening +of commerce, in 1865, the number of ships arriving annually varies +from six or eight to nearly forty. In 1866 there were twenty-three +vessels on government, and fifteen on private account. The government +vessels brought flour, salt, lead, iron, machinery, telegraph +material, army and navy equipments, and a thousand and one articles +included under the head of ‘government stores.’ The private ones, +(three of them American,) brought miscellaneous cargoes for the +mercantile community. There were no wrecks in that year, or at any +rate, none up to the time of my departure.</p> + +<p>At the Amoor I first began to hear those stories of peculation that +greet every traveler in Russia. According to my informants there were +many deficiencies in official departments, and very often losses were +ascribed to ‘leakage,’ ‘breakage,’ and damage of different kinds. “Did +you ever hear,” said a gentleman to me, “of rats devouring +window-glass, or of anchors and boiler iron blowing away in the wind?” +However startling such phenomena, he declared they had been known at +Nicolayevsk and elsewhere in the empire. I think if all the truth were +revealed we might learn of equally strange occurrences in America +during the late war.</p> + +<p>The Russians have explored very thoroughly the coast of Manjouria in +search of good harbors. Below De Castries the first of importance is +Barracouta Bay, in Latitude 49°. The government made a settlement +there in 1853, but subsequently abandoned it for Olga Bay, six degrees +further south. Vladivostok, or Dominion of the East, was occupied in +1857, and a naval station commenced. A few years later, Posyet was +founded near the head of the Corean peninsula, and is now growing +rapidly. It has one of the finest harbors on the Japan Sea, completely +sheltered, easily defended, and affording superior facilities for +repairing ships of war or commerce. It is free from ice the entire +year, and has a little cove or bay that could be converted into a dry +dock at small expense.</p> + +<p>In 1865 Posyet was visited by ten merchant vessels; it exported +fifteen thousand poods of <i>beche de mer</i>, the little fish formerly the +monopoly of the Feejees, and of which John Chinaman is very fond. It +exported ten thousand poods of bean cake, and eleven times that +quantity of a peculiar sea-grass eaten by the Celestials. Ginseng root +was also an article of commerce between Posyet and Shanghae. Russia +appears in earnest about the development of the Manjourian coast, and +is making many efforts for that object. The telegraph is completed +from Nicolayevsk to the new seaport, and a post route has been +established along the Ousuree.</p> + +<p>From San Francisco to the mouth of the Amoor I did not see a wheeled +vehicle, with the exception of a hand cart and a dog wagon. At +Nicolayevsk there were horses, carts, and carriages, and I had my +first experience of a horse harnessed with the Russian yoke. The +theory of the yoke is, that it keeps the shafts away from the animal’s +sides, and enables him to exert more strength than when closely +hedged. I cannot give a positive opinion on this point, but believe +the Russians are correct. The yoke standing high above the horse’s +head and touching him nowhere, has a curious appearance when first +seen. I never could get over the idea while looking at a dray in +motion, that the horse was endeavoring to walk through an arched +gateway and taking it along with him.</p> + +<p>The shafts were wide apart and attached by straps to the horse’s +collar. All the tension came through the shafts, and these were +strengthened by ropes that extended to the ends of the forward axle. +Harnesses had a shabby, ‘fixed up’ appearance, with a good deal of +rope in their composition. Why they did not go to pieces or crumble to +nothing, like the deacon’s One Horse Shay, was a mystery.</p> + +<p>Before leaving Nicolayevsk I enjoyed a ride in one of its private +carriages. The vehicle was open, its floor quite low, and the wheels +small. We had two horses, one between the shafts and wearing the +inevitable yoke. The other was outside, and attached to an iron +single-tree over the forward wheel. Three horses can be driven abreast +on this kind of carriage.</p> + +<p>The shaft horse trotted, while the other galloped, holding his head +very low and turned outward. This is due to a check rein, which keeps +him in a position hardly natural. The orthodox mode in Russia is to +have the shaft horse trotting while the other runs as described; the +difference in the motion gives an attractive and dashy appearance to +the turnout. Existence would be incomplete to a Russian without an +equipage, and if he cannot own one he keeps it on hire. The gayety of +Russian cities in winter and summer is largely due to the number of +private vehicles in constant motion through the streets.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_125'></a> +<img src="images/lg125-1.gif" id='lg125-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—NATIVE WOMAN" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2></div> + + +<p>I arranged to ascend the Amoor on the steamer Ingodah, which was +appointed to start on the eighteenth of September. My friend Anossoff +remained at Nicolayevsk during the winter, instead of proceeding to +Irkutsk as I had fondly hoped. I found a <i>compagnon du voyage</i> in +Captain Borasdine, of General Korsackoff’s staff. In a drenching rain +on the afternoon of the seventeenth, we carried our baggage to the +Ingodah, which lay half a mile from shore. We reached the steamer +after about twenty minutes pulling in a whale-boat and shipping a +barrel of water through the carelessness of an oarsman.</p> + +<p>At Nicolayevsk the Amoor is about a mile and a half wide, with a depth +of twenty to thirty-five feet in the channel. I asked a resident what +he thought the average rapidity of the current in front of the town.</p> + +<p>“When you look at it or float with it,” said he, “I think it is about +three and a half miles. If you go against it you find it not an inch +less than five miles.”</p> + +<p>The rowers had no light task to stem the rapid stream, and I think it +was about like the Mississippi at Memphis.</p> + +<p>The boat was to leave early in the morning. I took a farewell dinner +with Mr. Chase, and at ten o’clock received a note from Borasdine +announcing his readiness to go to the steamer. Anossoff, Chase, and +half a dozen others assembled to see us off, and after waking the +echoes and watchmen on the pier, we secured a skiff and reached the +Ingodah. The rain was over, and stars were peeping through occasional +loop-holes in the clouds.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg127-1.gif' id='lg127-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>SEEING OFF.</p></div> + +<p>‘Seeing off’ consumed much time and more champagne. As we left the +house I observed Chase and Anossoff each putting a bottle in his +pocket, and remarking the excellent character of their ballast. From +the quantity that revealed itself afterward the two bottles must have +multiplied, or other persons in the party were equally provided. To +send off a friend in Russia requires an amount of health-drinking +rarely witnessed in New York or Boston. If the journey is by land the +wayfarer is escorted a short distance on his route, sometimes to the +edge of the town, and sometimes to the first station. Adieus are +uttered over champagne, tea, lunch—and champagne. It was nearly +daybreak when our friends gave us the last hand-shake and went over +the side. Watching till their boat disappeared in the gloom, I sought +the cabin, and found the table covered with a beggarly array of empty +bottles and a confused mass of fragmentary edibles. I retired to +sleep, while the cabin boy cleared away the wreck.</p> + +<p>The sun rose before our captain. When I followed their example we were +still at anchor and our boilers cold as a refusal to a beggar. Late in +the morning the captain appeared; about nine o’clock fire was kindled +in the furnace, and a little past ten we were under way. As our anchor +rose and the wheel began to move, most of the deck passengers turned +in the direction of the church and devoutly made the sign of the +cross. As we slowly stemmed the current the houses of Nicolayevsk and +the shipping in its front, the smoking foundries, and the +pine-covered hills, faded from view, and with my face to the westward +I was fairly afloat on the Amoor.</p> + +<p>The Ingodah was a plain, unvarnished boat, a hundred and ten feet +long, and about fifteen feet beam. Her hull was of boiler iron, her +bottom flat, and her prow sharp and perpendicular. Her iron, wood +work, and engines were brought in a sailing ship to the Amoor and +there put together. She had two cabins forward and one aft, all below +deck. There was a small hold for storing baggage and freight, but the +most of the latter was piled on deck. The pilot house was over the +forward cabin, and contained a large wheel, two men, and a chart of +the river. The rudder was about the size of a barn door, and required +the strength of two men to control it. Had she ever refused to obey +her helm she would have shown an example of remarkable obstinacy.</p> + +<p>Over the after cabin there was a cook-house, where dwelt a shabby and +unwholesome cuisinier. Between the wheels was a bridge, occupied by +the captain when starting or stopping the boat; the engines, of thirty +horse power, were below deck, under this bridge. The cabins, without +state rooms, occupied the whole width of the boat. Wide seats with +cushions extended around the cabins, and served as beds at night. Each +passenger carried his own bedding and was his own chambermaid. The +furniture consisted of a fixed table, two feet by ten, a dozen stools, +a picture of a saint, a mirror, and a boy, the latter article not +always at hand.</p> + +<p>The cabins were unclean, and reminded me of the general condition of +transports during our late war. Can any philosopher explain why boats +in the service of government are nearly always dirty?</p> + +<p>The personnel of the boat consisted of a captain, mate, engineer, two +pilots, and eight or ten men. The captain and mate were in uniform +when we left port, but within two hours they appeared in ordinary +suits of grey. The crew were deck hands, roustabouts, or firemen, by +turns, and when we took wood most of the male deck passengers were +required to assist. On American steamboats the after cabin is the +aristocratic one; on the Amoor the case is reversed. The steerage +passengers lived, moved, and had their being and baggage aft the +engine, while their betters were forward. This arrangement gave the +steerage the benefit of all cinders and smoke, unless the wind was +abeam or astern.</p> + +<p>Steam navigation on the Amoor dates from 1854. In that year two wooden +boats, the Shilka and the Argoon, were constructed on the Shilka +river, preparatory to the grand expedition of General Mouravieff. +Their timber was cut in the forests of the Shilka, and their engines +were constructed at Petrovsky-Zavod. The Argoon was the first to +descend, leaving Shilikinsk on the 27th of May, 1854, and bringing the +Governor General and his staff. It was accompanied by fifty barges and +a great many rafts loaded with military forces to occupy the Amoor, +and with provisions for the Pacific fleet. The Shilka descended a few +months later. She was running in 1866, but the Argoon, the pioneer, +existed less than a decade. In 1866 there were twenty-two steamers on +the Amoor, all but four belonging to the government.</p> + +<p>The government boats are engaged in transporting freight, supplies, +soldiers, and military stores generally, and carrying the mail. They +carry passengers and private freight at fixed rates, but do not give +insurance against fire or accidents of navigation. Passengers contract +with the captain or steward for subsistence while on board. Deck +passengers generally support themselves, but can buy provisions on the +boat if they wish. The steward may keep wines and other beverages for +sale by the bottle, but he cannot maintain a bar. He has various +little speculations of his own and does not feed his customers +liberally. On the Ingodah the steward purchased eggs at every village, +and expected to sell them at a large profit in Nicolayevsk. When we +left him he had at least ten bushels on hand, but he never furnished +eggs to us unless we paid extra for them.</p> + +<p>One cabin was assigned to Borasdine and myself, save at meal times, +when two other passengers were present. One end of it was filled with +the mail, of which there were eight bags, each as large as a Saratoga +trunk and as difficult to handle. The Russian government performs an +‘express’ service and transports freight by mail; it receives parcels +in any part of the empire and agrees to deliver them in any other part +desired. From Nicolayevsk to St. Petersburg the charges are +twenty-five copecks (cents) a pound, the distance being seven thousand +miles. It gives receipts for the articles, and will insure them at a +charge of two per cent. on their value.</p> + +<p>Goods of any kind can be sent by post through Russia just as by +express in America. Captain Lund sent a package containing fifty sable +skins to his brother in Cronstadt, and another with a silk dress +pattern to a lady in St. Petersburg. In the mail on the Ingodah there +were twelve hundred pounds of sable fur sent by Mr. Chase to his agent +in St. Petersburg. Money to any amount can be remitted, and its +delivery insured. I have known twenty thousand roubles sent on a +single order.</p> + +<p>Parcels for transportation by post must be carefully and securely +packed. Furs, silks, clothing, and all things of that class are +enveloped in repeated layers of oil cloth and canvas to exclude water +and guard against abrasion. Light articles, like bonnets, must be +packed with abundance of paper filling them to their proper shape, and +very securely boxed. A Siberian lady once told me that a friend in St. +Petersburg sent her a lot of bonnets, laces, and other finery +purchased at great expense. She waited a long time with feminine +anxiety, and was delighted when told her box was at the post office. +What was her disappointment to find the articles had been packed in a +light case which was completely smashed. She never made use of any +part of its contents.</p> + +<p>In crossing Siberian rivers the mail is sometimes wet, and it is a +good precaution to make packages waterproof. A package of letters for +New York from Nicolayevsk I enveloped in canvas, by advice of Russian +friends, and it went through unharmed.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg131-1.gif' id='xlg131-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>SCENES ON THE AMOOR.</p></div> + +<p>The post wagons are changed at every station, and the mail while +being transferred is not handled with care. Frail articles must be +boxed so that no tossing will injure them. My lady friend told me of a +bride who ordered her trousseau from St. Petersburg and prepared for a +magnificent wedding. The precious property arrived forty-eight hours +before the time fixed for the ceremony. Moving accidents by flood and +field had occurred. The bridal paraphernalia was soaked, crushed, and +reduced to a mass that no one could resolve into its original +elements. The wedding was postponed and a new supply of goods ordered.</p> + +<p>The mail is always in charge of a postillion, who is generally a +Cossack, and his duty is much like that of a mail agent in other +countries. He delivers and receives the sacks of matter at the post +offices, and guards them on the road. During our voyage on the Ingodah +there was no supervision over the mail bags after they were deposited +in our cabin. I passed many hours in their companionship, and if +Borasdine and I had chosen to rifle them we could have done so at our +leisure. Possibly an escape from the penalties of the law would have +been less easy.</p> + +<p>Our cook was an elderly personage, with thin hair, a yellow beard, and +a much neglected toilet. On the first morning I saw him at his +ablutions, and was not altogether pleased with his manner. He took a +half-tumbler of water in his mouth and then squirted the fluid over +his hands, rubbing them meanwhile with invisible soap. He was quite +skillful, but I could never relish his dinners if I had seen him any +time within six hours. His general appearance was that of having slept +in a gutter without being shaken afterwards.</p> + +<p>The day of our departure from Nicolayevsk was like the best of our +Indian summer. There was but little wind, the faintest breath coming +now and then from the hills on the southern bank. The air was of a +genial warmth, the sky free from clouds and only faintly dimmed with +the haze around the horizon. The forest was in the mellow tints of +autumn, and the wide expanse of foliferous trees, dotted at frequent +intervals with the evergreen pine, rivalled the October hues of our +New England landscape. Hills and low mountains rose on both banks of +the river and made a beautiful picture. The hills, covered with forest +from base to summit, sloped gently to the water’s edge or retreated +here and there behind bits of green meadow. In the distance was a +background of blue mountains glowing in sunshine or dark in shadow, +and varying in outline as we moved slowly along. The river was ruffled +only by the ripples of the current or the motion of our boat through +the water. Just a year earlier I descended the Saint Lawrence from +Lake Ontario to Quebec. I saw nothing on the great Canadian river that +equaled the scenery of my first day’s voyage on the Amoor.</p> + +<p>Soon after leaving Nicolayevsk we met several loads of hay floating +with the current to a market at the town. On the meadows along the +river the grass is luxuriant, and hay requires only the labor of +cutting and curing. During the day we passed several points where +haymaking was in progress. Cutting was performed with an instrument +resembling the short scythe used in America for cutting bushes. After +it was dried, the hay was brought to the river bank on dray-like +carts. An American hay wagon would have accomplished twice as much, +with equal labor.</p> + +<p>The hay is like New England hay from natural meadows, and is delivered +at Nicolayevsk for six or eight dollars a ton. Cattle and horses +thrive upon it, if I may judge by the condition of the stock I saw. +For its transportation two flat-bottomed boats are employed, and held +about twelve feet apart by timbers. A floor on these timbers and over +the boats serves to keep the hay dry. Men are stationed at both ends +of the boats, and when once in the stream there is little to do beside +floating with the current. A mile distant one of these barges appears +like a haystack which an accident has set adrift.</p> + +<p>We saw many Gilyak boats descending the river with the current or +struggling to ascend it. The Gilyaks form the native population in +this region and occupy thirty-nine villages with about two thousand +inhabitants. The villages are on both banks from the mouth of the +river to Mariensk, and out of the reach of all inundations. Distance +lends enchantment to the view of their houses, which will not bear +close inspection.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg134-1.gif' id='lg134-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A GILYAK VILLAGE.</p></div> + +<p>Some of the houses might contain a half dozen families of ordinary +size, and were well adapted to the climate. While we took wood at a +Gilyak village I embraced the opportunity to visit the aboriginals. +The village contained a dozen dwellings and several fish-houses. The +buildings were of logs or poles, split in halves or used whole, and +were roofed with poles covered with a thatch of long grass to exclude +rain and cold. Some of the dwelling houses had the solid earth for +floors, while others had floorings of hewn planks.</p> + +<p>The store houses were elevated on posts like those of an American +‘corn barn,’ and were wider and lower than the dwellings. Each +storehouse had a platform in front where canoes, fishing nets, and +other portable property were stowed. These buildings were the +receptacles of dried fish for the winter use of dogs and their owners. +The elevation of the floor serves to protect the contents from dogs +and wild animals. I was told that no locks were used and that theft +was a crime unknown.</p> + +<p>The dwellings were generally divided into two apartments; one a sort +of ante room and receptacle of house-keeping goods, and the other the +place of residence. Pots, kettles, knives, and wooden pans were the +principal articles of household use I discovered. At the storehouses +there were several fish-baskets of birch or willow twigs. A Gilyak +gentleman does not permit fire carried into or out of his house, not +even in a pipe. This is not owing to his fear of conflagrations, but +to a superstition that such an occurrence may bring him ill luck in +hunting or fishing.</p> + +<p>It was in the season of curing fish, and the stench that greeted my +nostrils was by no means delightful. Visits to dwellings or magazines +would have been much easier had I possessed a sponge saturated with +cologne water. Fish were in various stages of preparation, some just +hung upon poles, while others were nearly ready for the magazine. The +manner of preparation is much the same as in Kamchatka, save that the +largest fish are skinned before being cut into strips. The poorest +qualities go to the dogs, and the best are reserved for bipeds.</p> + +<p>Though the natives do the most of the fishing on the Amoor, they do +not have a monopoly of it, as some of the Russians indulge in the +sport. One old fellow that I saw had a boat so full of salmon, that +there was no room for more. Now and then a fish went overboard, +causing an expression on the boatman’s face as if he were suffering +from a dose of astonishment and toothache drops in equal proportions.</p> + +<p>There were dogs everywhere, some lying around loose, and others tied +to posts under the storehouses. Some walked about and manifested an +unpleasant desire to taste the calves of my legs. All barked, growled, +and whined in a chorus like a Pawnee concert. There were big dogs and +little dogs, white, black, grey, brown, and yellow dogs, and not one +friendly. They did not appear courageous, but I was not altogether +certain of their dispositions. Their owners sought to quiet them, but +they refused comfort.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg136-1.gif' id='lg136-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>ABOUT FULL.</p></div> + +<p>Those dogs had some peculiarities of those in Kamchatka, but their +blood was evidently much debased; they appeared to be a mixture of +Kamchadale, greyhound, bull dog, and cur, the latter predominating. +They are used for hunting at all seasons, and for towing boats in +summer and dragging sledges in winter. I was told that since the +Russian settlement of the Amoor the Gilyak dogs have degenerated, in +consequence of too much familiarity with Muscovite canines. +Nicolayevsk appeared quite cosmopolitan, in the matter of dogs, and it +was impossible to say what breed was most numerous. One day I saw +nineteen in a single group and no two alike.</p> + +<p>Near the entrance of the village an old man was repairing his nets, +which were stretched along a fence. He did not regard us as we +scrutinized his jacket of blue cotton, and he made no response to a +question which Borasdine asked. Further along were two women putting +fish upon poles for drying, and a third was engaged in skinning a +large salmon. The women did not look up from their work, and were not +inclined to amiability. They had Mongol features, complexion, eyes, +and hair, the latter thick and black. Some of the men wear it plaited +into queues, and others let it grow pretty much at will. Each woman I +saw had it braided in two queues, which hung over her shoulders. In +their ears they wore long pendants, and their dresses were generally +arranged with taste.</p> + +<p>When recalled by the steam whistle we left the village and took a +short route down a steep bank to the boat. In descending, my feet +passed from under me, and I had the pleasure of sliding about ten +yards before stopping. Had it not been for a Cossack who happened in +my way I should have entered the Amoor after the manner of an otter, +and afforded much amusement to the spectators, though comparatively +little to myself. The sliding attracted no special attention as it was +supposed to be the American custom, and I did not deem it prudent to +make an explanation lest the story might bring discredit to my +nationality.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_137'></a> +<img src="images/lg137-1.gif" id='lg137-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—A TURN OUT" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2></div> + + +<p>I had a curiosity to examine the ancient monuments at Tyr, opposite +the mouth of the Amgoon river, but we passed them in the night without +stopping. There are several traditions concerning their origin. The +most authentic story gives them an age of six or seven hundred years. +They are ascribed to an emperor of the Yuen dynasty who visited the +mouth of the Amoor and commemorated his journey by building the +‘Monastery of Eternal Repose.’ The ruined walls of this monastery are +visible, and the shape of the building can be easily traced. In some +places the walls are eight or ten feet high.</p> + +<p>Mr. Collins visited the spot in 1857 and made sketches of the +monuments. He describes them situated on a cliff a hundred and fifty +feet high, from which there is a magnificent view east and west of the +Amoor and the mountains around it. Toward the south there are dark +forests and mountain ridges, some of them rough and broken. To the +north is the mouth of the Amgoon, with a delta of numerous islands +covered with forest, while in the northwest the valley of the river is +visible for a long distance. Back from the cliff is a table-land +several miles in width.</p> + +<p>This table-land is covered with oak, aspen, and fir trees, and has a +rich undergrowth of grass and flowers. On a point of the cliff there +are two monuments. A third is about four hundred yards away. One is a +marble shaft on a granite pedestal; a second is entirely granite, and +the third partly granite and partly porphyry. The first and third bear +inscriptions in Chinese, Mongol, and Thibetan. One inscription +announces that the emperor Yuen founded the Monastery of Eternal +Repose, and the others record a prayer of the Thibetans. Archimandrate +Avvakum, a learned Russian, who deciphered the inscriptions, says the +Thibetan prayer <i>Om-mani-badme-khum</i> is given in three languages. + +<a name='FNanchor_C_3'></a> +<a href='#Footnote_C_3'><sup>[C]</sup></a></p> + +<div><a name='Footnote_C_3'></a><a href='#FNanchor_C_3'>[C]</a></div> + +<div class='note'><p> Abbe Hue in his ‘Recollections of a journey through +Thibet and Tartary,’ says:— +</p> + +<p> +“The Thibetans are eminently religious. There exists at Lassa a +touching custom which we are in some sort jealous of finding among +infidels. In the evening as soon as the light declines, the Thibetans, +men, women, and children, cease from all business and assemble in the +principal parts of the city and in the public squares. When the groups +are formed, every one sits down on the ground and begins slowly to +chant his prayers in an undertone, and this religious concert produces +an immense and solemn harmony throughout the city. The first time we +heard it we could not help making a sorrowful comparison between this +pagan town, where all prayed in common, with the cities of the +civilized world, where people would blush to make the sign of the +cross in public. +</p> + +<p> +“The prayer chanted in these evening meetings varies according to the +season of the year; that which they recite to the rosary is always the +same, and is only composed of six syllables, <i>om-mani-badme-khum</i>. +This formula, called briefly the <i>mani</i>, is not only heard from every +mouth, but is everywhere written in the streets, in the interior of +the houses, on every flag and streamer floating over the buildings, +printed in the Landzee, Tartar, and Thibetan characters. The Lamas +assert that the doctrine contained in these words is immense, and that +the whole life of man is not sufficient to measure its depth and +extent.”</p></div> + +<p>The lowest of the monuments is five and the tallest eight feet in +height. Near them are several flat stones with grooves in their +surface, which lead to the supposition of their employment for +sacrificial purposes. Mr. Chase told me at Nicolayevsk that he thought +one of the monuments was used as an altar when the monastery +flourished. There are no historical data regarding the ruins beyond +those found on the stones.</p> + +<p>Many of the Russians and Chinese believe the site was selected by +Genghis Khan, and the monastery commemorated one of his triumphs. The +natives look upon the spot with veneration, and frequently go there to +practice their mysterious rites.</p> + +<p>Before leaving Nicolayevsk I asked the captain of the Irigodah how +fast his boat could steam. “Oh!” said he, “ten or twelve versts an +hour.” Accustomed to our habit of exaggerating the powers of a +steamer, I expected no more than eight or nine versts. I was surprised +to find we really made twelve to fifteen versts an hour. Ten thousand +miles from St. Louis and New Orleans I at last found what I sought for +several years—a steamboat captain who understated the speed of his +boat! Justice to the man requires the explanation that he did not own her.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg140-1.gif' id='lg140-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>ON THE AMOOR.</p></div> + +<p>My second day on the Amoor was much like the first in the general +features of the scenery. Hills and mountains on either hand; meadows +bounding one bank or the other at frequent intervals; islands dotted +here and there with pleasing irregularity, or stretching for many +miles along the valley; forests of different trees, and each with its +own particular hue; a canopy of hazy sky meeting ranges of misty peaks +in the distance; these formed the scene. Some one asks if all the +tongues in the world can tell how the birds sing and the lilacs smell. +Equally difficult is it to describe with pen upon paper the beauties +of that Amoor scenery. Each bend of the stream gave us a new picture. +It was the unrolling of a magnificent panorama such as no man has yet +painted. And what can I say? There was mountain, meadow, forest, +island, field, cliff, and valley; there were the red leaves of the +autumn maple, the yellow of the birch, the deep green of pine and +hemlock, the verdure of the grass, the wide river winding to reach the +sea, and we slowly stemming its current. How powerless are words to +describe a scene like this!</p> + +<p>The passengers of our boat were of less varied character than those on +a Mississippi steamer. There were two Russian merchants, who joined us +at meal times in the cabin but slept in the after part of the boat. +One was owner of a gold mine two hundred miles north of Nicolayevsk, +and a general dealer in everything along the Amoor. He had wandered +over Mongolia and Northern China in the interest of commerce, and I +greatly regretted my inability to talk with him and learn of the +regions he had visited. He was among the first to penetrate the +Celestial Empire under the late commercial treaty, and traveled so far +that he was twice arrested by local authorities. He knew every fair +from Leipsic to Peking, and had been an industrious commercial +traveler through all Northern Asia.</p> + +<p>Once, below Sansin, on the Songaree river, he was attacked by thieves +where he had halted for the night. With a single exception his crew +was composed of Chinese, and these ran away at the first alarm. With +his only Russian companion he attempted to defend his property, but +the odds were too great, especially as his gun could not be found. He +was made prisoner and compelled to witness the plundering of his +cargo. Every thing valuable being taken, the thieves left him.</p> + +<p>In the morning he proceeded down the stream. Not caring to engage +another crew, he floated with the current and shared with his Russian +servant the labor of steering. The next night he was robbed again, and +the robbers, angry at finding so little to steal, did not leave him +his boat. After much difficulty he reached a native village and +procured an old skiff. With this he finished his journey unmolested.</p> + +<p>There were fifteen or twenty deck passengers, a fair proportion being +women and children. Among the latter was a black eyed girl of fifteen, +in a calico dress and wearing a shawl pinned around a pretty face. On +Sunday morning she appeared in neat apparel and was evidently desirous +of being seen. There were two old men dressed in coarse cloth of a +‘butternut’ hue, that reminded me of Arkansas and Tennessee. The +morning we started one of them was seated on the deck counting a pile +of copper coin with great care. Two, three, four times he told it off, +piece by piece, and then folded it carefully in the corner of his +kerchief. In all he had less than a rouble, but he preserved it as if +it were a million.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm142-1.gif' id='sm142-1' alt='' class='ig001' /> +<p>CASH ACCOUNT.</p></div> + +<p>The baggage of the deck passengers consisted of boxes and household +furniture in general, not omitting the ever-present samovar. This +baggage was piled on the deck and was the reclining place of its +owners by day. In the night they had the privilege of the after cabin, +where they slept on the seats and floor.</p> + +<p>‘Wooding up’ was not performed with American alacrity. To bring the +steamer to land she was anchored thirty feet from shore, and two men +in a skiff carried a line to the bank and made it fast. With this line +and the anchor the boat was warped within ten feet of the shore, +another line keeping the stern in position. An ordinary plank a foot +wide made the connection with the solid earth. These boats have no +guards and cannot overhang the land like our Western craft. Wood was +generally piled fifty, a hundred, or five hundred feet from the +landing place, wherever most convenient to the owner. No one seems to +think of placing it near the water’s edge as with us; they told me +that this had been done formerly, and the freshets had carried the +wood away. The peasants, warned by their loss, are determined to keep +on the safe side.</p> + +<p>When all was ready the deck hands went very leisurely to work. Each +carried a piece of rope which he looped around a few sticks of wood as +a boy secures his bundle of school books. The rope was then slung upon +the shoulder, the wood hanging over the back of the carrier and +occasionally coming loose from its fastenings. No man showed any sign +of hurrying, but all acted as if there were nothing in the world as +cheap as time. One day I watched the wooding operation from beginning +to end. It took an hour and a half and twelve men to bring about four +cords of wood on board. There was but one man displaying any activity, +and <i>he</i> was falling from the plank into the river.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg143-1.gif' id='lg143-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>WOODING UP.</p></div> + +<p>The Russian measure of wood is the <i>sajene</i> (fathom.) and a sajene of +wood is a pile a fathom long, wide, and high. The Russian marine +fathom measures six feet like our own, but the land fathom is seven +feet. It is by the land fathom that everything on solid earth is +measured. A stick seven feet long is somewhat inconvenient, and +therefore they cut wood half a fathom in length.</p> + +<p>We landed our first freight at Nova Mihalofski, a Russian village on +the southern bank of the river. The village was small and the houses +were far from palatial. The inhabitants live by agriculture in summer, +sending their produce to Nicolayevsk, and by supplying horses for the +postal service in winter. I observed here and at other villages an +example of Russian economy. Not able to purchase whole panes of window +glass the peasants use fragments of glass of any shape they can get. +These are set in pieces of birch bark cut to the proper form and the +edges held by wax or putty. The bark is then fastened to the window +sash much as a piece of mosquito netting is fixed in a frame.</p> + +<p>Near Springfield, Missouri, I once passed a night in a farmer’s house. +The dwelling had no windows, and when we breakfasted we were obliged +to keep the door open to give us light, though the thermometer was at +zero, with a strong wind blowing. “I have lived in this house +seventeen years,” said the owner; “have a good farm and own four +niggers.” But he could not afford the expense of a window, even of the +Siberian kind!</p> + +<p>Ten or fifteen miles above this village we reached Mihalofski, +containing a hundred houses and three or four hundred inhabitants. +From the river this town appeared quite pretty and thriving; the +houses were substantially built, and many had flower gardens in front +and neat fences around them. Between the town and the river there were +market gardens in flourishing condition, bearing most of the +vegetables in common use through the north. The town is along a ridge +of easy ascent, and most of the dwellings are thirty or forty feet +above the river. Its fields and gardens extend back from the river +wherever the land is fertile and easiest cleared of the forest. On the +opposite side of the river there are meadows where the peasants engage +in hay cutting. The general appearance of the place was like that of +an ordinary village on the lower St. Lawrence, though there were many +points of difference.</p> + +<p>In several rye fields the grain had been cut and stacked. Near our +landing was a mill, where a man, a boy, and a horse were manufacturing +meal at the rate of seven poods or 280 pounds a day. The whole +machinery was on the most primitive scale.</p> + +<p>Entering the house of the mill-owner I found the principal apartment +quite neat and well arranged, its walls being whitewashed and +decorated with cheap lithographs and wood-cuts. Among the latter were +several from the Illustrated London News and <i>L’Illustration +Universelle</i>. The sleeping room was fitted with bunks like those on +steamboats, though somewhat wider. There was very little clothing on +the beds, but several sheepskin coats and coverlids were hanging on a +fence in front of the house.</p> + +<p>Borasdine had business at the telegraph station, whither I accompanied +him. The operator furnished a blank for the despatch, and when it was +written and paid for he gave a receipt. The receipt stated the hour +and minute when the despatch was taken, the name of the sender, the +place where sent, the number of words, and the amount paid. This form +is invariably adhered to in the Siberian telegraph service.</p> + +<p>The telegraph on the lower Amoor was built under the supervision of +Colonel Romanoff and was not completed at the time of my visit. It +commenced at Nicolayevsk and followed the south bank of the Amoor to +Habarofka at the mouth of the Ousuree. At Mariensk there was a branch +to De Castries, and from Habarofka the line extended along the Ousuree +and over the mountains to Posyet and Vladivostok. From Habarofka it +was to follow the north bank of the Amoor to the Shilka, to join the +line from Irkutsk and St. Petersburg. Arrangements have been made +recently to lay a cable from Posyet to Hakodadi in Japan, and thence +to Shanghae and other parts of China. When the cable proposed by Major +Collins is laid across the Pacific Ocean, and the break in the Amoor +line is closed up, the telegraph circuit around the globe will be +complete.</p> + +<p>The telegraph is operated on the Morse system with instruments of +Prussian manufacture. Compared to our American instruments the +Prussian ones are quite clumsy, though they did not appear so in the +hands of the operators. The signal key was at least four times as +large as ours, and could endure any amount of rough handling. The +other machinery was on a corresponding scale.</p> + +<p>A merchant who knew Mr. Borasdine invited us to his house, where he +brought a lunch of bread, cheese, butter, and milk for our +entertainment. Salted cucumbers were added, and the repast ended with +tea. In the principal room there was a Connecticut clock in one +corner, and the windows were filled with flowers, among which were the +morning glory, aster, and verbena. Several engravings adorned the +walls, most of them printed at Berlin. We purchased a loaf of sugar, +and were shown a bear-skin seven feet long without ears and tail. The +original and first legitimate owner of the skin was killed within a +mile of town.</p> + +<p>In addition to his commerce and farming, this merchant was +superintendent of a school where several Gilyak boys were educated. It +was then vacation, and the boys were engaged in catching their winter +supply of fish. At the merchant’s invitation we visited the school +buildings.</p> + +<p>The study room was much like a backwoods schoolroom in America, having +rude benches and desks, but with everything clean and well made. The +copy-books exhibited fair specimens of penmanship. On a desk lay a +well worn reading book containing a dozen of Æsop’s fables translated +into Russian and profusely illustrated. It corresponded to an American +‘Second Reader.’</p> + +<p>There was a dormitory containing eight beds, and there was a +wash-room, a dining-room, and a kitchen, the latter separate from the +main building. Close at hand was a forge where the boys learned to +work in iron, and a carpenter shop with a full set of tools and a +turning lathe. The superintendent showed me several articles made by +the pupils, including wooden spoons, forks, bowls, and cups, and he +gave me for a souvenir a seal cut in pewter, bearing the word +‘Fulyhelm’ in Russian letters, and having a neatly turned handle.</p> + +<p>The school is in operation ten months of each year. The superintendent +said the children of the Russian peasants could attend if they wished, +but very few did so. The teacher was a subordinate priest of the +Eastern church. The expense of the establishment was paid by +Government, with the design of making the boys useful in educating the +Gilyaks.</p> + +<p>The Gilyaks of the lower Amoor are pagans, and the attempts to +Christianize them have not been very successful thus far. Their +religion consists in the worship of idols and animals, and their +priests or <i>shamans</i> correspond to the ‘medicine man’ of the American +Indians. Among animals they revere the tiger, and I was told no +instance was known of their killing one. The remains of a man killed +by a tiger are buried without ceremony, but in the funerals of other +persons the Gilyaks follow very nearly the Chinese custom. The bear is +also sacred, but his sanctity does not preserve him from being killed.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg147-1.gif' id='lg147-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>BEAR IN PROCESSION.</p></div> + +<p>In hunting this beast they endeavor to capture him alive; once taken +and securely bound he is placed in a cage in the middle of a village, +and there fattened upon fish. On fete-days he is led, or rather +dragged, in procession, and of course is thoroughly muzzled and bound. +Finally a great day arrives on which Bruin takes a prominent part in +the festival by being killed. There are many superstitious ceremonies +carefully observed on such occasions. The ears, jawbones, and skull of +the bear are hung upon trees to ward off evil spirits, and the flesh +is eaten, as it is supposed to make all who partake of it both +fortunate and courageous.</p> + +<p>I did not have the pleasure of witnessing any of these ursine +festivals, but I saw several bear cages and looked upon a bear while +he lunched on cold salmon. If the bear were more gentle in his manners +he might become a household pet among the Gilyaks; but at present he +is not in favor, especially where there are small children.</p> + +<p>Ermines were formerly domesticated for catching rats, the high price +of cats confining their possession to the wealthy. Cats have a +half-religious character and are treated with great respect. Since the +advent of the Russians the supply is very good. Before they came the +Manjour merchants used to bring only male cats that could not trouble +themselves about posterity. The price was sometimes a hundred roubles +for a single mouser, and by curtailing the supply the Manjours kept +the market good.</p> + +<p>The Gilyaks, like nearly all the natives of Northern Asia, are +addicted to Shamanism. The shaman combines the double function of +priest and doctor, ministering to the physical and spiritual being at +the same time. When a man is taken sick he is supposed to be attacked +by an evil spirit and the shaman is called to practice exorcism. There +is a distinct spirit for every disease and he must be propitiated in a +particular manner. While practicing his profession the shaman contorts +his body and dances like one insane, and howls worse than a dozen +Kamchadale dogs. He is dressed in a fantastic manner and beats a +tambourine during his performance. To accommodate himself to the +different spirits he modulates his voice, changes the character of his +dance, and alters his costume. Both doctor and patient are generally +decked with wood-shavings while the work is going on.</p> + +<p>Sometimes an effigy of the sick person is prepared, and the spirit is +charmed from the man of flesh to the one of straw. The shaman induces +him to take up lodgings in this effigy, and the success of his +persuasion is apparent when the invalid recovers. If the patient dies +the shaman declares that the spirit was one over which he had no +control, but he does not hesitate to take pay for his services.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg149-1.gif' id='lg149-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.</p></div> + +<p>A Russian traveler who witnessed one of these exorcisms said that the +shaman howled so fearfully that two Chinese merchants who were present +out of curiosity fled in very terror. The gentleman managed to endure +it to the end, but did not sleep well for a week afterward.</p> + +<p>The Gilyaks believe in both good and evil spirits, but as the former +do only good it is not thought necessary to pay them any attention. +All the efforts are to induce the evil spirits not to act. They are +supposed to have power over hunting, fishing, household affairs, and +the health and well-being of animals and men. The shamans possess +great power over their superstitious subjects, and their commands are +rarely refused. I heard of an instance wherein a native caught a fine +sable and preserved the skin as a trophy. Very soon a man in the +village fell ill. The shaman after practicing his art announced that +the spirit commanded the sable skin to be worn by the doctor himself. +The valuable fur was given up without hesitation. A Russian traveler +stopping one night in a Gilyak house discovered in the morning that +his sledge was missing, and was gravely told that the spirit had taken +it.</p> + +<p>In 1814 the small pox raged in one of the tribes living on the Kolyma +river, and the deaths from it were numerous. The shamans practiced all +their mysteries, and invoked the spirits, but they could not stop the +disease. Finally, after new invocations, they declared the evil +spirits could not be appeased without the death of Kotschen, a chief +of the tribe. This chief was so generally loved and respected that the +people refused to obey the shamans. But as the malady made new +progress, Kotschen magnanimously came forward and was stabbed by his +own son.</p> + +<p>In general the shamans are held in check by the belief that should +they abuse their power they will be long and severely punished after +death. This punishment is supposed to occur in a locality specially +devoted to bad shamans. A good shaman who has performed wonderful +cures receives after death a magnificent tomb to his memory.</p> + +<p>The Russians think that with educated Gilyaks they can succeed in +winning the natives to Christianity, especially when the missionaries +are skilled in the useful arts of civilized life. Hence the school in +Mihalofski, and it has so far succeeded well in the instruction of the +boys. Russian and Gilyak children were working in the gardens in +perfect harmony, and there was every indication of good feeling +between natives and settlers.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>On leaving Mihalofski we took the merchant and two priests and dropped +them fifteen miles above, at a village where a church was being +dedicated. The people were in their holiday costume and evidently +awaited the priests. The church was pointed out, nestling in the +forest just back of the river bank. It seemed more than large enough +for the wants of the people, and was the second structure of the kind +in a settlement ten years old. I have been told, but I presume not +with literal truth, that a church is the first building erected in a +Russian colony.</p> + +<p>At night we ran until the setting of the moon, and then anchored. It +is the custom to anchor or tie up at night unless there is a good moon +or very clear starlight. An hour after we anchored the stars became so +bright that we proceeded and ran until daylight, reaching Mariensk at +two in the morning. I had designed calling upon two gentlemen and a +lady at Mariensk, but it is not the fashion in Russia to make visits +between midnight and daybreak. Borasdine had the claim of old +acquaintance and waked a friend for a little talk.</p> + +<p>This town is at the entrance of Keezee lake, and next to Nicolayevsk +is the oldest Russian settlement on the lower Amoor. It was founded by +the Russian American Company in the same year with Nicolayevsk, and +was a trading post until the military occupation of the river. +Difficulties of navigation have diminished its military importance, +the principal rendezvous of this region being transferred to Sofyesk.</p> + +<p>On an island opposite Mariensk is the trace of a fortification built +by Stepanoff, a Russian adventurer who descended the Amoor in 1654. +Stepanoff passed the winter at this point, and fortified himself to be +secure against the natives. He seems to have engaged in a general +business of filibustering on joint account of himself and his +government. In the winter of his residence at this fortress he +collected nearly five thousand sable skins as a tribute to his +emperor—and himself.</p> + +<p>Morning found us at Sofyesk taking a fresh supply of wood. This town +was founded a few years ago, and has a decided appearance of newness. +There is a wagon road along the shore of Keezee lake and across the +hills to De Castries Bay. Light draft steamboats can go within twelve +miles of De Castries. Surveys have been made with the design of +connecting Keezee Lake and the Gulf of Tartary by a canal. A railway +has also been proposed, but neither enterprise will be undertaken for +many years. I passed an hour with the post commander, who had just +received a pile of papers only two months from St. Petersburg, the +mail having arrived the day before.</p> + +<p>The steamer Telegraph lay at the landing when we arrived; among her +passengers was a Manjour merchant, who possessed an intelligent face, +quite in contrast with the sleepy Gilyaks. He wore the Manjour dress, +consisting of wide trowsers and a long robe reaching to his heels; his +shoes and hat were Chinese, and his robe was held at the waist with a +silk cord. His hair was braided in the Chinese fashion, and he sported +a long mustache but no beard.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm152-1.gif' id='sm152-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>MANJOUR MERCHANT.</p></div> + +<p>A few versts above Sofyesk we met a Manjour merchant evidently on a +trading expedition. He had a boat about twenty-five feet long by eight +wide, with a single mast carrying a square sail. His boat was full of +boxes and bales and had a crew of four men. A small skiff was towed +astern and another alongside. These Manjour merchants are quite +enterprising, and engage in traffic for small profits and large risks +when better terms are not attainable. Before the Russian occupation +all the trade of the lower Amoor was in Manjour hands. Boats annually +descended from San-Sin and Igoon bringing supplies for native use. +Sometimes a merchant would spend five or six months making his round +journey.</p> + +<p>The merchants visited the villages on the route and bargained their +goods for furs. There was an annual fair at the Gilyak village of Pul, +below Mariensk, and this was made the center of commerce. The fair +lasted ten days, and during that time Pul was a miniature Nijne +Novgorod. Manjour and Chinese merchants met Japanese from the island +of Sakhalin, Tunguse from the coast of the Ohotsk Sea, and others +from, the head waters of the Zeya and Amgoon. There were Gilyaks from +the lower Amoor and various tribes of natives from the coast of +Manjouria.</p> + +<p>A dozen languages were spoken, and traffic was conducted in a patois +of all the dialects. Cloth, powder, lead, knives, and brandy were +exchanged for skins and furs. A gentleman who attended one of these +fairs told me that the scene was full of interest and abounded in +amusing incidents. Of late years the navigation of the Amoor has +discontinued the fair of Pul. The Manjour traders still descend the +river, but they are not as numerous as of yore.</p> + +<p>With a good glass from the deck of the steamer I watched the native +process of catching salmon. The fishing stations are generally, though +not always, near the villages. The natives use gill nets and seines in +some localities, and scoop nets in others. Sometimes they build a +fence at right angles to the shore, and extend it twenty or thirty +yards into the stream. This fence is fish-proof, except in a few +places where holes are purposely left.</p> + +<p>The natives lie in wait with skiffs and hand-nets and catch the +salmon, as they attempt to pass these holes. I watched a Gilyak taking +fish in this way, and think he dipped them up at the rate of two a +minute; when the fish are running well a skiff can be filled in a +short time. Sometimes pens of wicker work are fixed to enclose the +fish after they pass the holes in the fence. The salmon in this case +has a practical illustration of life in general: easy to get into +trouble but difficult to get out of it.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg154-1.gif' id='lg154-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p> GILYAK MAN.</p></div> + +<p>For catching sturgeon they use a circular net five feet across at the +opening, and shaped like a shallow bag. One side of the mouth is +fitted with corks and the other with weights of lead or iron. Two +canoes in mid stream hold this net between them, at right angles to +the current. The sturgeon descending the river enters the trap, and +the net proceeds of the enterprise are divided between the fishermen.</p> + +<p>It requires vision or a guide to find a fishing station, but the sense +of smell is quite sufficient to discover where salmon are dressed and +cured. The offal from the fish creates an unpleasant stench and no +effort is made to clear it away. The natives and their dogs do not +consider the scent disagreeable and have no occasion to consult the +tastes or smell of others. The first time I visited one of their +fish-curing places I thought of the western city that had, after a +freshet, ‘forty-five distinct and different odors beside several wards +to hear from.’</p> + +<p>Above Mariensk the Amoor valley is often ten or twenty miles wide, +enclosing whole labyrinths of islands, some of great extent. These +islands are generally well out of water and not liable to overflow. +Very few have the temporary appearance of the islands of the lower +Mississippi. Here and there were small islands of slight elevation and +covered with cottonwoods, precisely like those growing between Memphis +and Cairo.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg155-1.gif' id='lg155-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p> GILYAK WOMAN.</p></div> + +<p>The banks of this part of the Amoor do not wash like the alluvial +lands along the Mississippi and Missouri, but are more like the shores +of the Ohio. They are generally covered with grass or bushes down to +the edge of the water. There are no shifting sand-bars to perplex the +pilot, but the channel remains with little change from year to year. I +saw very little drift wood and heard no mention of snags. The general +features of the scenery were much like those below Mihalofski. The +numerous islands and the labyrinth of channels often permit boats to +pass each other without their captains knowing it. One day we saw a +faint line of smoke across an island three or four miles wide; +watching it closely I found it was in motion and evidently came from +a descending steamboat. On another occasion we missed in these +channels a boat our captain was desirous of hailing. Once while +General Mouravieff was ascending the river he was passed by a courier +who was bringing him important despatches.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg156-1.gif' id='xlg156-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>NIGHT SCENE—GROUP OF PEASANTS.</p></div> + +<p>The pilot steers with a chart of the river before him, and relies +partly upon his experience and partly upon the delineated route. +Sometimes channels used at high water are not navigable when the river +is low, and some are favorable for descent but not for ascent. In +general the pilotage is far more facile than on the Mississippi, and +accidents are not frequent.</p> + +<p>The peasants always came to the bank where we stopped, no matter what +the hour. At one place where we took wood at night there was a +picturesque group of twenty-five or thirty gathered around a fire; men +and women talking, laughing, smoking, and watching the crew at work. +The light, of the fire poured full upon a few figures and brought them +into strong relief, while others were half hidden in shadow. Of the +men some wore coats of sheepskin, others Cossack coats of grey cloth; +some had caps of faded cloth, and others Tartar caps of black +sheepskin. Red beards, white beards, black beards, and smooth faces +were played upon by the dancing flames. The women, were in hoopless +dresses, and held shawls over their heads in place of bonnets.</p> + +<p>A hundred versts above Sofyesk the scenery changed. The mountains on +the south bank receded from the river and were more broken and +destitute of trees. Wide strips of lowland covered with forest +intervened between the mountains and the shore. On the north the +general character of the country remained. I observed a mountain, +wooded to the top and sloping regularly, that had a curious formation +at its summit. It was a perpendicular shaft resembling Bunker Hill +Monument, and rising from the highest point of the mountain; it +appeared of perfect symmetry, and seemed more like a work of art than +of nature. On the same mountain, half way down its side, was a mass of +rock with towers and buttresses that likened it to a cathedral. These +formations were specially curious, as there were no more of the kind +in the vicinity. Borasdine observed the rocks soon after I discovered +them, and at first thought they were ancient monuments.</p> + +<p>There were many birds along the shore. Very often we dispersed flocks +of ducks and sent them flying over islands and forests to places of +safety. Snipe were numerous, and so were several kinds of wading and +swimming birds. Very often we saw high in air the wild geese of +Siberia flying to the southward in those triangular squadrons that +they form everywhere over the world. These birds winter in the south +of China, Siam, and India, while they pass the summer north of the +range of the Yablonoi mountains.</p> + +<p>The birds of the Amoor belong generally to the species found in the +same latitudes of Europe and America, but there are some birds of +passage that are natives of Southern Asia, Japan, the Philippine +Islands, and even South Africa and Australia. Seven-tenths of the +birds of the Amoor are found in Europe, two-tenths in Siberia, and +one-tenth in regions further south. Some birds belong more properly to +America, such as the Canada woodcock and the water ouzel; and there +are several birds common to the east and west coasts of the Pacific. +The naturalists who came here at the Russian occupation found two +Australian birds on the Amoor, two from tropical and sub-tropical +Africa, and one from Southern Asia.</p> + +<p>The number of stationary birds is not great, in consequence of the +excessive cold in winter. Mr. Maack enumerates thirty-nine species +that dwell here the entire year. They include eagles, hawks, jays, +magpies, crows, grouse, owls, woodpeckers, and some others. The birds +of passage generally arrive at the end of April or during May, and +leave in September or October.</p> + +<p>It is a curious fact that they come later to Nicolayevsk than to the +town of Yakutsk, nine degrees further north. This is due to +differences of climate and the configuration of the country. The lower +Amoor is remarkable for its large quantities of snow, and at +Nicolayevsk it remains on the ground till the end of May. South of +the lower Amoor are the Shanalin mountains, which arrest the progress +of birds. On the upper Amoor and in Trans-Baikal very little snow +falls, and there are no mountains of great height.</p> + +<p>The day after leaving Sofyesk I observed a native propelling a boat by +pulling both oars together. On my expressing surprise my companion +said:</p> + +<p>“We have passed the country of the Gilyaks who pull their oars +alternately, and entered that of the Mangoons and Goldees. The manner +of rowing distinguishes the Gilyaks from all others.”</p> + +<p>The Mangoons, Goldees, and Gilyaks differ in much the same way that +the tribes of American Indians are different. They are all of +Tungusian or Mongolian stock, and have many traits and words in +common. Their features have the same general characteristics and their +languages are as much alike as those of a Cheyenne and Comanche. Each +people has its peculiar customs, such as the style of dress, the mode +of constructing a house, or rowing a boat. All are pagans and indulge +in Shamanism, but each tribe has forms of its own. All are fishers and +hunters, their principal support being derived from the river.</p> + +<p>The Goldee boat was so much like a Gilyak one that I could see no +difference. There was no opportunity to examine it closely, as we +passed at a distance of two or three hundred feet.</p> + +<p>Besides their boats of wood the Goldees make canoes of birch bark, +quite broad in the middle and coming to a point at both ends. In +general appearance these canoes resemble those of the Penobscot and +Canadian Indians. The native sits in the middle of his canoe and +propels himself with a double-bladed oar, which he dips into the water +with regular alternations from one side to the other. The canoes are +flat bottomed and very easy to overturn. A canoe is designed to carry +but one man, though two can be taken in an emergency. When a native +sitting in one of them spears a fish he moves only his arm and keeps +his body motionless. At the Russian village of Gorin there was an +Ispravnik who had charge of a district containing nineteen villages +with about fifteen hundred inhabitants. At Gorin the river is two or +three miles wide, and makes a graceful bend. We landed near a pile of +ash logs awaiting shipment to Nicolayevsk. The Ispravnik was kind +enough to give me the model of a Goldee canoe about eighteen inches +long and complete in all particulars. It was made by one Anaka +Katonovitch, chief of an ancient Goldee family, and authorized by the +emperor of China to wear the uniform of a mandarin. The canoe was +neatly formed, and reflected favorably upon the skill of its designer. +I boxed it carefully and sent it to Nicolayevsk for shipment to +America.</p> + +<p>The Ispravnik controlled the district between Habarofka and Sofyesk on +both banks of the river, his power extending over native and Russian +alike. He said that this part of the Amoor valley was very fertile, +the yield of wheat and rye being fifteen times the seed. The principal +articles cultivated were wheat, rye, hemp, and garden vegetables, and +he thought the grain product of 1866 in his district would be thirty +thousand poods of wheat and the same of rye. With a population of +fifteen hundred in a new country, this result was very good.</p> + +<p>The Goldees do not engage in agriculture as a business. Now and then +there was a small garden, but it was of very little importance. Since +the Russian occupation the natives have changed their allegiance from +China to the ‘White Czar,’ as they call the Muscovite emperor. +Formerly they were much oppressed by the Manjour officials, who +displayed great rapacity in collecting tribute. It was no unusual +occurrence for a native to be tied up and whipped to compel him to +bring out all his treasures. The Goldees call the Manjours ‘rats,’ in +consequence of their greediness and destructive powers.</p> + +<p>The Goldees are superior to the Gilyaks in numbers and intelligence, +and the Manjours of Igoon and vicinity are in turn superior to the +Goldees. The Chinese are more civilized than the Manjours, and call +the latter ‘dogs.’ The Manjours take revenge by applying the epithet +to the Goldees, and these transfer it to Mangoons and Gilyaks. The +Mangoons are not in large numbers, and live along the river between +the Gilyaks and Goldees. Many of the Russian officials include them +with the latter, and the captain of the Ingodah was almost unaware of +their existence.</p> + +<p>A peculiar kind of fence employed by the Russian settlers on this part +of the Amoor attracted my attention. Stakes were driven into the +ground a foot apart and seven feet high. Willow sticks were then woven +between these stakes in a sort of basket work. The fence was +impervious to any thing larger than a rat, and no sensible man would +attempt climbing it, unless pursued by a bull or a sheriff, as the +upper ends of the sticks were very sharp and about as convenient to +sit upon as a row of harrow-teeth.</p> + +<p>It reminded me of a fence in an American village where I once lived, +that an enterprising fruit-grower had put around his orchard,—a +structure of upright pickets, and each picket armed with a nail in the +top. One night four individuals bent on stealing apples, were +confronted by the owner and a bull-dog and forced to surrender or leap +the fence. Three of them were “treed” by the dog; the fourth sprang +over the fence, but left the seat of his trousers and the rear section +of his shirt, the latter bearing in indelible ink the name of the +wearer. The circumstantial evidence was so strong against him that he +did not attempt an alibi, and he was unable to sit down for nearly a +fortnight.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_161'></a> +<img src="images/sm161-1.gif" id='sm161-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—THE NET" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XIV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2></div> + + +<p>I took the first opportunity to enter a Goldee house and study the +customs of the people. A Goldee dwelling for permanent habitation has +four walls and a roof. The sides and ends are of hewn boards or small +poles made into a close fence, which is generally double and has a +space six or eight inches wide filled with grass and leaves. Inside +and out the dwelling is plastered with mud, and the roofs are thatch +or bark held in place by poles and stones. Sometimes they are entirely +of poles. The doors are of hewn plank, and can be fastened on the +inside.</p> + +<p>The dwellings are from fifteen to forty feet square, according to the +size of the family. In one I found a grandfather and his descendants; +thirty persons at least. There are usually two windows, made of fish +skin or thin paper over lattices. Some windows were closed with mats +that could be rolled up or lowered at will.</p> + +<p>The fire-place has a deep pan or kettle fixed over it, and there is +room for a pot suspended from a rafter. Around the room is a divan, or +low bench of boards or wicker work, serving as a sofa by day and a bed +at night. When dogs are kept in the house a portion of the divan +belongs to them, and among the Mangoons there is a table in the center +specially reserved for feeding the dogs.</p> + +<p>I found the floors of clay, smooth and hard. Near the fire-place a +little fire of charcoal is kept constantly burning in a shallow hole. +Pipes are lighted at this fire, and small things can be warmed over +it. Household articles were hung upon the rafters and cross beams, and +there was generally a closet for table ware and other valuables. The +cross-beams were sufficiently close to afford stowage room for +considerable property. Fish-nets, sledges, and canoes were the most +bulky articles I saw there.</p> + +<p>Part of one wall was reserved for religious purposes, and covered with +bear-skulls and bones, horse-hair, wooden idols, and pieces of colored +cloth. Occasionally there were badly-painted pictures, purchased from +the Chinese at enormous prices. Sometimes poles shaped like small +idols are fixed before the houses.</p> + +<p>A Goldee house is warmed by means of wooden pipes under the divan and +passing out under ground to a chimney ten or fifteen feet from the +building. Great economy is shown in using fuel and great care against +conflagrations. I was not able to stand erect in any Goldee houses I +entered.</p> + +<p>Like all people of the Mongolian race, the natives pretended to have +little curiosity. When we landed at their villages many continued +their occupations and paid no attention to strangers. Above Gorin a +Goldee gentleman took me into his house, where a woman placed a mat on +the divan and motioned me to a seat. The man tendered me a piece of +dried fish, which I ate out of courtesy to my hosts. Several children +gathered to look at me, but retired on a gesture from <i>pater +familias</i>. I am not able to say if the fact that my eyes were +attracted to a pretty girl of seventeen had anything to do with the +dispersal of the group. Curiosity dwells in Mongol breasts, but the +Asiatics, like our Indians, consider its exhibition in bad taste.</p> + +<p>Outside this man’s house there were many scaffoldings for drying fish. +A tame eagle was fastened with a long chain to one of the scaffolds; +he was supposed to keep other birds away and was a pet of his owner. +There were many dogs walking or lying around loose, while others were +tied to the posts that supported the scaffolds.</p> + +<p>The dogs of the Goldees are very intelligent. One morning Mr. Maack +missed his pots which he had left the night before full of meat. After +some search they were found in the woods near the village, overturned +and empty. Several dogs were prowling about and had evidently +committed the theft. Fearing to be interrupted at their meal they +carried the pots where they could eat at leisure.</p> + +<p>While steaming up the river I frequently saw temporary dwellings of +poles and bark like our Indian wigwams. These were at the fishing +stations upon sand bars or low islands. The afternoon following our +departure from Gorin I counted about thirty huts, or <i>yourts</i>, on one +island, and more than fifty boats on the river.</p> + +<p>For half a mile the scene was animated and interesting. Some boats +were near the shore, their inmates hauling seines or paddling up or +down the stream. In one heavily laden boat there was one man steering +with a paddle. Four men towed the craft against the current, and +behind it was another drawn by six dogs. Out in the river were small +skiffs and canoes in couples, engaged in holding nets across the +direction of the current. The paddles wore struck regularly and slowly +to prevent drifting down the stream.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg164-1.gif' id='lg164-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>TEN MILES AN HOUR.</p></div> + +<p>One boat with two men rowing and another steering attempted a race +with the steamer and fairly passed us, though we were making ten miles +an hour. All these natives are very skillful in managing their boats.</p> + +<p>When we passed near a boat we were greeted with ‘<i>Mendow, mendow,’</i> +the Mongol word of welcome. Sometimes we were hailed with the Russian +salutation of ‘<i>sdrastveteh</i>.’ In one boat I saw a Goldee belle +dressed with considerable taste and wearing a ring in the cartilage of +her nose. How powerful are the mandates of Fashion! This damsel would +scorn to wear her pendants after the manner of Paris and New York, +while the ladies of Broadway and the Boulevards would equally reject +the Goldee custom.</p> + +<p>The natives of this part of the Amoor have a three-pronged spear like +a Neptune’s trident, and handle it with much dexterity. The spear-head +is attached to a long line, and when a fish is struck the handle is +withdrawn. The fish runs out the line, which is either held in the +hand or attached to a bladder floating on the water.</p> + +<p>Ropes and nets are made from hemp and the common sting nettle, the +latter being preferred. The nettle-stalks are soaked in water and then +dried and pounded till the fibres separate. Ropes and cords are equal +to those of civilized manufacture, though sometimes not quite as +smooth. Thread for sewing and embroidery comes from China, and is +purchased of Manjour traders.</p> + +<p>The night after we left Gorin the boat took wood at the village of +Doloe. It was midnight when we arrived, and as I walked through the +village nearly all the inhabitants were sleeping. The only +perambulating resident was very drunk and manifested a desire to +embrace me, but as I did not know his language and could not claim +relationship I declined the honor. Near the river there was a large +building for government stores and a smaller one for the men guarding +it. A few hundred yards distant there was a Goldee village, and for +want of something better Borasdine proposed that we should call on one +of its inhabitants. We took a Russian peasant to guide and introduce +us, our credentials and passports having been left on the steamer.</p> + +<p>As we approached the first house we were greeted by at least a dozen +dogs. They barked on all keys and our guide thought it judicious to +provide himself with a stick; but I must do the brutes the justice to +say that they made no attempt at dentistry upon our legs. Some of +them were large enough to consume ten pounds of beef at a sitting, and +some too small for any but ornamental purposes.</p> + +<p>The door was not locked and the peasant entered without warning, while +we stood outside among the dogs. Our guide aroused the chief of the +establishment and made a light; a strip of birch bark was used, and it +took a good deal of blowing on the fire coals before a flame was +produced. When we entered we found the proprietor standing in a short +garment and rubbing his oblique eyes to get himself thoroughly awake.</p> + +<p>Near the place he had vacated, the lady of the house was huddled under +a coverlid about as large as a postage stamp, and did not appear +encumbered with much clothing. Three or four others had waked and made +some attempt to cover themselves. At least a dozen remained asleep and +lay in a charming condition of nudity. The Goldee houses are heated to +a high degree, and their inmates sleep without clothing. The delay in +admitting us was to permit the head of the house to dress in reception +costume, which he did by putting on his shirt.</p> + +<p>After wishing this aboriginal a long and happy life, and thanking him +for his courtesy, we departed. I bumped my head against the rafters +both in entering and leaving, and found considerable difference +between the temperature in the house and out of it. The peasant +offered to guide us to visit more Goldees, but we returned to the boat +and retired to sleep.</p> + +<p>The Russian peasants and the natives live in perfect harmony and are +of mutual advantage and assistance. The peasant furnishes the native +with salt, flour, and other things, while the latter catches fish, +enough for both. Each has a peaceable disposition, and I was told that +quarrels were of rare occurrence.</p> + +<p>The Chinese call the natives <i>Yu-pi-ta-tze</i>, which in English means +‘wearers of fish-skins.’ I saw many garments of fish-skins, most of +them for summer use. The operation of preparing them is quite simple. +The skins are dried and afterward pounded, the blows making them +flexible and removing the scales. This done they are ready to be sewn +into garments.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg167-1.gif' id='xlg167-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A GOLDEE HOUSE</p></div> + +<p>A coat of this material embroidered and otherwise decorated is far +from ugly, and sheds water like India rubber. Fish skins are used in +making sails for boats and for the windows of houses. A Russian who +had worn a Goldee coat said it was both warm and waterproof, and he +suggested that it would be well to adopt fish-skin garments in +America.</p> + +<p>The Goldees and Mangoons practice Shamanism in its general features, +and have a few customs peculiar to themselves. At a Goldee village I +saw a man wearing a wooden representation of an arm, and learned that +it is the practice to wear amulets to cure disease, the amulet being +shaped like the part affected. A lame person carries a small leg of +wood, an individual suffering from dyspepsia a little stomach, and so +on through a variety of disorders. A hypochondriac who thought himself +afflicted all over had covered himself with these wooden devices, and +looked like a museum of anatomy on its travels. I thought the custom +not unknown in America, as I had seen ladies in New York wearing +hearts of coral and other substances on their watch-chains. Evidently +the fashion comes from l’Amour.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm168-1.gif' id='sm168-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE HYPOCHONDRIAC.</p></div> + +<p>The morning after leaving Doloe we had a rain-storm with high wind +that blew us on a lee shore. The river was four or five miles wide +where the gale caught us, and the banks on both sides were low. The +islands in this part of the river were numerous and extensive. At one +place there are three channels, each a mile and a half wide and all +navigable. From one bank to the other straight across the islands is a +distance of nineteen miles.</p> + +<p>The wind and weather prevented our making much progress on that day; +as the night was cloudy we tied up near a Russian village and +economised the darkness by taking wood. At a peasant’s house near the +landing four white-headed children were taking their suppers of bread +and soup under the supervision of their mother. Light was furnished +from an apparatus like a fishing jack attached to the wall; every few +minutes the woman fed it with a splinter of pine wood. Very few of the +peasants on the Amoor can afford the expense of candles, and as they +rarely have fire-places they must burn pine splinters in this way.</p> + +<p>Along the Amoor nearly every peasant house contains hundreds, and I +think thousands, of cockroaches. They are quiet in the day but do not +fail to make themselves known at night. The table where these children +were eating swarmed with them, and I can safely say there wore five +dozen on a space three feet square. They ran everywhere about the +premises except into the fire. Walls, beds, tables, and floors were +plentifully covered with these disagreeable insects. The Russians do +not appear to mind them, and probably any one residing in that region +would soon be accustomed to their presence. Occasionally they are +found in bread and soup, and do not improve the flavor.</p> + +<p>Life on the steamboat was a trifle monotonous, but I found something +new daily. Our steward (who is called <i>Boofetchee</i> in Russian) brought +me water for washing when I rose in the morning, and the samovar with +tea when I was dressed. Borasdine rose about the time I did and joined +me at tea. Then we had breakfast of beef and bread with potatoes about +eleven or twelve o’clock, and dinner at six.</p> + +<p>The intervals between meals were variously filled. I watched the land, +talked with Borasdine, read, wrote, smoked, and contemplated the +steward, but never imagined him a disguised angel. I looked at the +steerage passengers and the crew, and think their faces are pretty +well fixed in memory. Had I only been able to converse in Russian I +should have found much more enjoyment. As for the cook it is needless +to say that I never penetrated the mysteries of his realm. Little +games of cards wore played daily by all save myself; I used to look on +occasionally but never learned the games.</p> + +<p>One of the Russian games at cards is called poker, and is not much +unlike that seductive amusement so familiar to the United States. +Whence it came I could not ascertain, but it was probably taken there +by some enterprising American. Some years ago a western actor who was +able to play Hamlet, Richelieu, Richard III., Claude Melnotte, and +draw-poker, made his way to Australia, where he delighted the natives +with his dramatic genius. But though he drew crowded houses his cash +box was empty, as the treasurer stole the most of the receipts. He did +not discharge him as there was little prospect of finding a better man +in that country; but he taught him draw-poker, borrowed five dollars +to start the game, and then every morning won from the treasurer the +money taken at the door on the previous night.</p> + +<p>As we approached the Ousuree there was a superior magnificence in the +forest. The trees on the southern bank grew to an enormous size in +comparison, with those lower down the river. Naturalists say that +within a short distance in this region may be found all the trees +peculiar to the Amoor. Some of them are three or four feet in diameter +and very tall and straight. The elm and larch attain the greatest +size, while the ash and oak are but little inferior. The cork-tree is +two feet through, and the maackia—a species of oak with a brown, firm +wood—grows to the diameter of a foot or more.</p> + +<p>In summer the foliage is so dense that the sun’s rays hardly +penetrate, and there is a thick ‘chapparel’ that makes locomotion +difficult. Just below the Ousuree the settlers had removed the under +growth over a small space and left the trees appearing taller than +ever. In a great deal of travel I have never seen a finer forest than +on this part of the Amoor. I do not remember anything on the lower +Mississippi that could surpass it. Tigers and leopards abound in +these forests, and bears are more numerous than agreeable. +Occasionally one of these animals dines upon a Goldee, but the custom +is not in favor with the natives. It is considered remarkable that the +Bengal tiger, belonging properly to a region nearer the equator, +should range so far north. On some of its excursions it reaches 53° +North Latitude, and feeds upon reindeer and sables. The valley of the +Amoor is the only place in the world outside of a menagerie where all +these animals are found together. The tropical ones go farther north +and the Arctic ones farther south than elsewhere.</p> + +<p>It is the same with the vegetable kingdom. The mahogany and cork tree +grow here, and the bark of the latter is largely used by the natives. +On the slopes of the mountains a few miles away are the Siberian pine, +the Ayan spruce, and here and there a larch tree. Cedars and fir trees +are abundant and grow to a great size. The whole appearance of the +region is one of luxuriance and fertility.</p> + +<p>The mouth of the Ousuree is a mile wide, and the stream is said to be +magnificent through its whole length. Its sources are in Latitude 44°, +and its length is about five hundred miles. While I was at Nicolayevsk +Admiral Fulyelm said to me:</p> + +<p>“I have just returned from a voyage on the Ousuree. It is one of the +loveliest rivers I ever saw. The valley bears such a resemblance to a +settled country with alternate parks and open country that I almost +looked to see some grand old mansion at every bend of the stream.”</p> + +<p>A little past noon we sighted the town and military post of Habarofka +at the mouth of the Ousuree. It stands on a promontory overlooking +both rivers, and presents a pleasing appearance from the Amoor. The +portion first visible included the telegraph office and storehouses, +near which a small steamer was at anchor. A Manjour trading boat was +at the bank, its crew resting on shore; a piece of canvas had been +spread on the ground and the men were lounging upon it. One grave old +personage, evidently the owner of the boat, waved his hand toward us +in a dignified manner, but we could not understand his meaning.</p> + +<p>Coming to shore we narrowly missed running over a Goldee boat that +crossed our track. Our wheel almost touched the stern of the craft as +we passed it, but the occupants appeared no wise alarmed. Two women +were rowing and a man steering, while a man and a boy were idle in the +bow. A baby, strapped into a shallow cradle, lay in the bottom of the +boat near the steersman. The young Mongol was holding his thumb in his +mouth and appeared content with his position.</p> + +<p>The town was in a condition of rawness like a western city in its +second year; there was one principal street and several smaller ones, +regularly laid out. As in all the Russian settlements on the Amoor the +houses were of logs and substantially built. Passing up the principal +street we found a store, where we purchased a quantity of canned +fruit, meats, and pickles.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm172-1.gif' id='sm172-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>“NONE FOR JOE.”</p></div> + +<p>These articles were from Boston, New York, and Baltimore, and had +American labels. The pictures of poaches, strawberries, and other +fruits printed on the labels were a great convenience to the Russian +clerk who served us. He could not read English, but understood +pictorial representations. On the boat we gave the cans to the +steward, to be opened when we ordered. The pictures were especially +adapted to this youth as he read no language whatever, including his +own. On one occasion a quantity of devilled turkey was put up in cans +and sent to the Amoor, and the label was beautified with a picture of +His Satanic Majesty holding a turkey on the end of a fork. The natives +supposed that the devil was in the cans and refused to touch them. The +supply was sent back to Nicolayevsk, where it was eaten by the +American merchants.</p> + +<p>Accompanying Borasdine I called upon the officer in command. We were +ushered through two or three small rooms into the principal apartment, +which contained a piano of French manufacture. Three or four officers +and as many ladies enabled us to pass an hour very pleasantly till the +steam whistle recalled us, but we did not leave until two hours after +going on board. Two or three men had been allowed on shore and were +making themselves comfortable in a <i>lafka</i>. Two others went for them, +but as they did not return within an hour the police went to search +for both parties. When all were brought to the steamer it was +difficult to say it the last were not first—in intoxication.</p> + +<p>Several passengers left us at Habarofka, among them the black eyed +girl that attracted the eyes of one or two passengers in the cabin; as +we departed she stood on the bank and waved us an adieu. In the +freight taken at this point there were fifteen chairs of local +manufacture; they were piled in the cabin and did not leave us much +space, when we considered the number and size of the fleas. On my +first night on the Ingodah the fleas did not disturb me as I came +after visiting hours and was not introduced. On all subsequent nights +they were persevering and relentless; I was bitten until portions of +my body appeared as if recovering from a Polynesian tattoo. They used +to get inside my under clothing by some mysterious way and when there +they walked up and down like sentries on duty and bit at every other +step. It was impossible to flee from them, and they appointed their +breakfasts and lunches at times most inconvenient to myself.</p> + +<p>If I were Emperor of Russia I would issue a special edict expelling +fleas from my dominions and ordering that the labor expended in +scratching should be devoted to agriculture or the mechanic arts. I +suggested that the engines should be removed from the Ingodah and a +treadmill erected for the fleas to propel the boat. There have been +exhibitions where fleas were trained to draw microscopic coaches and +perform other fantastic tricks; but whatever their ability I would +wager that the insects on that steamboat could not be outdone in +industry by any other fleas in the world.</p> + +<p>One of my standard amusements was to have a grand hunt for these +lively insects just before going to bed, and I have no doubt that the +exercise assisted to keep me in good health. I used to remove my +clothing, which I turned inside out and shook very carefully. Then I +bathed from head to foot in some villainous brandy that no respectable +flea would or could endure; after this ablution was ended, I donned my +garments, wrapped in my blanket, and proceeded to dream that I was a +hen with thirteen chickens, and doomed to tear up an acre of ground +for their support.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_174'></a> +<img src="images/lg174-1.gif" id='lg174-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—SCENE ON THE RIVER" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2></div> + + +<p>When I rose in the morning after leaving Habarofka the steward was +ready with his usual pitcher of water and basin. In Siberia they have +a novel way of performing ablutions. They rarely furnish a wash-bowl, +but in place of it bring a large basin of brass or other metal. If you +wish to wash hands or face the basin is placed where you can lean over +it. A servant pours from a pitcher into your hands, and if you are +skillful you catch enough water to moisten your face. Frequently the +peasants have a water-can attached to the wall of the house in some +out-of-the-way locality. The can has a valve in the bottom opened from +below like a trapdoor in a roof. By lifting a brass pin that projects +from this valve one can fill his hands with water without the aid of a +servant.</p> + +<p>While I was arranging my toilet the steward pointed out of the cabin +window and uttered the single word “Kitie”—emphasizing the last +syllable. I looked where he directed and had my first view of the +Chinese empire.</p> + +<p>“Kitie” is the Russian name of China, and is identical with the Cathay +of Marco Polo and other early travelers. I could not see any +difference between Kitie on one hand and Russia on the other; there +were trees and bushes, grass and sand, just as on the opposite shore. +In the region immediately above the Ousuree there are no mountains +visible from the river, but only the low banks on either hand covered +with trees and bushes. Here and there were open spaces appearing as if +cleared for cultivation. With occasional sand bars and low islands, +and the banks frequently broken and shelving, the resemblance to the +lower Mississippi was almost perfect.</p> + +<p>Mr. Maack says of this region:</p> + +<p>“In the early part of the year when the yellow blossoms of the +Lonicera chrysantha fill the air with their fragrance, when the +syringas bloom and the Hylonecon bedecks large tracts with a bright +golden hue, when corydales, violets, and pasque flowers are open, the +forests near the Ousuree may bear comparison in variety of richness +and coloring with the open woods of the prairie country. Later in the +year, the scarcity of flowers is compensated by the richness of the +herbage, and after a shower of rain delicious perfumes are wafted +towards us from the tops of the walnut and cork trees.”</p> + +<p>A little past noon we touched at the Russian village of Petrovsky. At +this place the river was rapidly washing the banks, and I was told +that during three years nearly four hundred feet in front of the +village had been carried away. The single row of houses forming the +settlement stands with a narrow street between it and the edge of the +bank. The whole population, men, women, and children, turned out to +meet us. The day was cool and the men were generally in their +sheepskin coats. The women wore gowns of coarse cloth of different +colors, and each had a shawl over her head. Some wore coats of +sheepskin like those of the men, and several were barefooted. Two +women walked into the river and stood with utter nonchalance where the +water was fifteen inches deep. I immersed my thermometer and found it +indicated 51°.</p> + +<p>Walking on shore I was nearly overturned by a small hog running +between my legs. The brute, with a dozen of his companions, had pretty +much his own way at Petrovsky, and after this introduction I was +careful about my steps. These hogs are modelled something like +blockade runners: with great length, narrow beam, and light draft. +They are capable of high speed, and would make excellent time if +pursued by a bull-dog or pursuing a swill-bucket.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg177-1.gif' id='lg177-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RECEPTION AT PETROVSKY.</p></div> + +<p>A peasant told us there were wild geese in a pond near by, +and as the boat remained an hour or more to take wood, Borasdine and I +improvised a hunting excursion. It proved in every sense a wild-goose +chase, as the birds flew away before we were in shooting distance. Not +wishing to return empty-handed we purchased two geese a few hundred +yards from the village, and assumed an air of great dignity as we +approached the boat. We subsequently ascertained that the same geese +were offered to the steward for half the price we paid.</p> + +<p>Just above Petrovsky we passed the steamer Amoor, which left +Nicolayevsk a week before us with three barges in tow. With such a +heavy load her progress was very slow. Barges on the Amoor river are +generally built of iron, and nearly as large as the steamers. They are +not towed alongside as on the Mississippi, but astern. The rope from +the steamer to the first barge is about two hundred feet long, and the +barges follow each other at similar distances. Looking at this steamer +struggling against the current and impeded by the barges, brought to +mind Pope’s needless Alexandrine:</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>“That, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>Each barge has a crew, subordinate, of course, to the captain of the +tow-boat. This crew steers the barge in accordance with the course of +the steamer, looks after its welfare, and watches over the freight on +board. In case it fastens on a sand bar the crew remains with it, and +sometimes has the pleasure of wintering there. The barge is decked +like a ship, and has two or three hatchways for receiving and +discharging freight. Over each hatchway is a derrick that appears at a +distance not unlike a mast.</p> + +<p>Above Petrovsky the banks generally retain their level character on +the Russian side. Cliffs and hills frequently extend to the water on +the Chinese shore, most of the land being covered with forests of +foliferous trees. Some of the mountains are furrowed along their sides +as regularly as if turned with a gigantic plow. Near the villages of +Ettoo and Dyrki the cliffs are precipitous and several hundred feet +high; at their base the water is deep and the current very strong. On +the north shore the plain is generally free from tall trees, but has a +dense growth of grass and bushes. Sand-banks are frequent, and the +islands are large and numerous.</p> + +<p>This region is much frequented during the fishing season, and the huts +of the natives, their canoes and drying scaffolds are quite numerous. +There are but few fixed villages, the country not being desirable for +permanent habitation. Near one village there was a gently sloping +hillside about a mile square with a forest of oak so scattered that it +had a close resemblance to an American apple-orchard.</p> + +<p>The treaty between Russia and China, fixing the boundaries between the +two empires, contains a strange oversight. Dated on the 14th of +November, 1860, it says:</p> + +<p>“Henceforth the eastern frontier between the two empires shall +commence from the junction of the rivers Shilka and Argoon, and will +follow the course of the River Amoor to the junction of the river +Ousuree with the latter. The land on the left bank (to the north) of +the River Amoor belongs to the empire of Russia, and the territory on +the right bank (to the south) to the junction of the River Ousuree, to +the empire of China.”</p> + +<p>The treaty further establishes the boundaries from the mouth of the +Ousuree to the sea of Japan, and along the western region toward +Central Asia. It provides for commissioners to examine the frontier +line.</p> + +<p>It declares that trade shall be free of duty along the entire line, +and removes all commercial restrictions. It gives the merchants of +Kiachta the right of going to Pekin, Oorga, and Kalgan; allows a +Russian consulate at Oorga, and permits Russian merchants to travel +anywhere in China. It annuls former treaties, and establishes a postal +arrangement between Pekin and Kiachta.</p> + +<p>I presume the oversight in the treaty was on the part of the Chinese, +as the Russians are too shrewd in diplomacy to omit any point of +advantage. Nothing is said about the land in the Amoor. “The land on +the north bank is Russian, and on the south bank Chinese.” What is to +be the nationality of the islands in the river? Some of them are large +enough to hold a population of importance, or be used, as the sites of +fortifications. There are duchies and principalities in Europe of less +territorial extent than some islands of the Amoor.</p> + +<p>When Russia desires them she will doubtless extend her protection, and +I observed during my voyage that several islands were occupied by +Russian settlers for hay-cutting and other purposes. Why could not an +enterprising man of destiny like the grey-eyed Walker or unhappy +Maximilian penetrate the Amoor and found a new government on an island +that nobody owns? Quite likely his adventure would result like the +conquests of Mexico and Nicaragua, but this probability should not +cause a man of noble blood to hesitate.</p> + +<p>Below the Ousuree the Russian villages were generally on the south +bank of the river, but after passing that stream I found them all on +the north side. The villages tributary to China consisted only of the +settlements of Goldees and Mangoons, or their temporary fishing +stations. The Chinese empire contains much territory still open to +colonization, and I imagine that it would be to the interest of the +Celestial government to scatter its population more evenly over its +dominions. Possibly it does not wish to send its subjects into regions +that may hereafter fall into the hands of the emperor of Russia. +There is a great deal of land in Manjouria adapted to agriculture, +richly timbered and watered, but containing a very small population. +Millions of people could find homes where there are now but a few +thousands.</p> + +<p>A Russian village and military post seventeen miles below the mouth of +the Songaree is named Michael Semenof, in honor of the Governor +General of Eastern Siberia. We landed before the commandant’s house, +where two iron guns pointed over the river in the direction of China. +However threatening they appeared I was informed they were +unserviceable for purposes of war, and only employed in firing +salutes. A military force was maintained there, and doubtless kept a +sharp watch over the Chinese frontier.</p> + +<p>The soldiers appeared under good sanitary regulations, and the +quarters of the Commandant indicated an appreciation of the comforts +of life. The peasants that gathered on the bank were better dressed +than those of Petrovsky and other villages. The town is on a plain +covered with a scattered growth of oaks. Below this place the wood +furnished us was generally ash or poplar; here it was oak, somewhat +gnarly and crooked, but very good for steamboat fuel. One design of +the colonization of the Amoor is to furnish a regular supply of wood +to the government steamers. The peasants cut the wood and bring it to +the bank of the river. Private steamers pay cash for what they +purchase; the captains of the government boats gives vouchers for the +wood they take, and these vouchers are redeemed at the end of the +season of navigation. About sixty thousand roubles worth of wood is +consumed annually by government, and twelve thousand on private +account.</p> + +<p>While the boat took wood Borasdine and I resumed our hunting, he +carrying a shot-gun and I an opera glass; with this division of labor +we managed to bag a single snipe and kill another, which was lost in +the river. My opera glass was of assistance in finding the birds in +the grass; they were quite abundant almost within rifle-shot of town, +and it seemed strange that the officers of the post did not devote +their leisure to snipe hunting.</p> + +<p>Our snipe was cooked, for dinner, and equalled any I ever saw at +Delmonico’s. We had a wild goose at the same meal, and after a careful +trial I can pronounce the Siberian goose an edible bird. He is not +less cunning than wild geese elsewhere, but with all his adroitness he +frequently falls into the hands of man and graces his dinner table.</p> + +<p>On the northern horizon, twenty or thirty miles from Michael Semenof, +there is a range of high and rugged mountains. As we left the town, +near the close of day, the clouds broke in the west and the sunshine +lighted up these mountains and seemed to lift them above their real +position. With the red and golden colors of the clouds; the lights and +shadows of the mountains; the yellow forests of autumn, and the green +plains near the river; the stillness broken only by our own motion or +the rippling of the river, the scene was ‘most fair to look upon.’ I +have never seen sunsets more beautiful than those of the Amoor.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg181-1.gif' id='lg181-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>ARMED AND EQUIPPED.</p></div> + +<p>I rose early in the morning to look at the mouth of the Songaree. +Under a cloudy moon I could distinguish little beyond the outline of +the land and the long low water line where the Amoor and Songaree +sweep at right angles from their respective valleys. Even though it +was not daylight I could distinguish the line of separation, or union, +between the waters of the two streams, just as one can observe it +where the Missouri and Mississippi unite above Saint Louis. I would +have given much to see this place in full daylight, but the fates +willed it otherwise.</p> + +<p>This river is destined at some time to play an important part in +Russian and Chinese diplomacy. At present it is entirely controlled by +China, but it appears on all the late maps of Eastern Siberia with +such minuteness as to indicate that the Russians expect to obtain it +before long. Formerly the Chinese claimed the Songaree as the real +Amoor, and based their argument on the fact that it follows the +general course of the united stream and carried a volume of water as +large as the other. They have now abandoned this claim, which the +Russians are entirely willing to concede. Once the fact established +that the Songaree is the real Amoor, the Russians would turn to the +treaty which gives them “all the land north of the Amoor.” Their next +step would be to occupy the best part of Manjouria, which would be +theirs by the treaty.</p> + +<p>By far the larger portion of Manjouria is drained by the Songaree and +its tributaries. The sources of this river are in the Shanalin +mountains, that separate Corea from Manjouria, and are ten or twelve +thousand feet high. They resemble the Sierra Nevadas in having a lake +twelve miles in circumference as high in air as Lake Tahoe. The +affluents of the Songaree run through a plateau in some places densely +wooded while in others it has wide belts of prairie and marshy ground. +A large part of the valley consists of low, fertile lands, through +which the river winds with very few impediments to navigation.</p> + +<p>Very little is known concerning the valley, but it is said to be +pretty well peopled and to produce abundantly. M. De la Bruniere when +traveling to the country of the Gilyaks in 1845, crossed this valley, +and found a dense population along the river, but a smaller one +farther inland. The principal cities are Kirin and Sansin on the main +stream, and Sit-si-gar on the Nonni, one of its tributaries. The +Songaree is navigable to Kirin, about thirteen hundred versts from the +Amoor, and it is thought the Nonni can be ascended to Sit-si-gar. The +three cities have each a population of about a hundred thousand.</p> + +<p>According to the treaty of 1860 Russian merchants with proper +passports may enter Chinese territory, but no more than two hundred +can congregate in one locality. Russian merchants have been to all the +cities in Manjouria, but the difficulties of travel are not small. The +Chinese authorities are jealous of foreigners, and restrict their +movements as much as possible.</p> + +<p>The Russians desire to open the Songaree to commerce, but the Chinese +prefer seclusion. A month before my visit a party ascended the river +to ascertain its resources. A gentleman told me the Chinese used every +means except actual force to hinder the progress of the steamer and +prevent the explorers seeing much of the country. Whenever any one +went on shore the people crowded around in such numbers that nothing +else could be seen. Almost the whole result of the expedition was to +ascertain that the river was navigable and its banks well peopled.</p> + +<p>In the dim light of morning I saw some houses at the junction of the +rivers, and learned they were formerly the quarters of a Manjour +guard. Until 1864 a military force, with two or three war junks, was +kept at the mouth of the Songaree to prevent Russian boats ascending. +Mr. Maximowicz, the naturalist, endeavored in 1859 to explore the +river as far as the mouth of the Nonni. Though his passport was +correct, the Manjour guard ordered him to stop, and when he insisted +upon proceeding the Celestial raised his matchlock. Maximowicz +exhibited a rifle and revolver and forced a passage.</p> + +<p>He was not molested until within forty miles of San-Sin, when the +natives came out with flails, but prudently held aloof on seeing the +firearms in the boat. Finding he could not safely proceed, the +gentleman turned about when only twenty-five miles below the city.</p> + +<p>After passing the Songaree I found a flat country with wide prairies +on either side of the river. In the forest primeval the trees were +dense and large, and where no trees grew the grass was luxuriant. The +banks were alluvial and evidently washed by the river during times of +freshet. There were many islands, but the windings of the river were +more regular than farther down. I saw no native villages and only two +or three fishing stations. Those acquainted with the river say its +banks have fewer inhabitants there than in any other portion.</p> + +<p>On the Russian shore there were only the villages established by +government, but notwithstanding its lack of population, the country +was beautiful. With towns, plantations, and sugar-mills, it would +greatly resemble the region between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. I +could perceive that the volume of the river was much diminished above +its junction with the Songaree.</p> + +<p>At long and rare intervals snags were visible, but not in the +navigable channel. We took soundings with a seven foot pole attached +to a rope fastened to the rail of the boat. A man threw the pole as if +he were spearing fish, and watched the depth to which it descended. +The depth of water was shouted in a monotonous drawl. “<i>Sheiste; +sheiste polivinnay; sem; sem polivinnay;</i>” and so on through the +various quantities indicated. I thought the manner more convenient +than that in use on some of our western rivers.</p> + +<p>While smoking a cigar on the bridge I was roused by the cry of +“<i>tigre! tigre</i>!” from Borasdine. I looked to where he pointed on the +Chinese shore and could see an animal moving slowly through the grass. +It may have been a tiger, and so it was pronounced by the Russians who +saw it; I have never looked upon a real tiger outside of a menagerie, +and am not qualified to give an opinion. I brought my opera glass and +Borasdine Iris rifle, but the beast did not again show himself. +Provoked by this glimpse my companions retired to the cabin and made a +theoretical combat with the animal until dinner time.</p> + +<p>The day was made memorable by a decent dinner; the special reason for +it was the fact that Borasdine had presented our caterer with an old +coat. I regretted I could not afford to reduce my wardrobe, else we +would have secured another comfortable repast. Both steward and cook +were somewhat negligently clad, and possibly a spare garment or two +might have opened their hearts and larders.</p> + +<p>Of course the sight of the tiger led to stories about his kindred, and +we whiled away a portion of the evening in narrating incidents of a +more or less personal character. An officer, who was temporarily our +fellow-passenger, on his way to one of the Cossack posts, a few miles +above, gave an account of his experience with a tiger on the Ousuree.</p> + +<p>I was out (said he) on a survey that we were making on behalf of the +government to establish the boundary between Russia and China. The +country was then less known than now; there were no settlements along +the river, and with the exception of the villages of the natives, +thirty or forty miles apart, the whole country was a wilderness. At +one village we were warned that a large tiger had within a month +killed two men and attacked a third, who was saved only by the sudden +and unexpected appearance of a party of friends. We prepared our +rifles and pistols, to avoid the possibility of their missing fire in +case of an encounter with the man-stealing beast. Rather reluctantly +some of the natives consented to serve us as guides to the next +village. We generally found them ready enough to assist us, as we paid +pretty liberally for their services, and made love to all the young +women that the villages contained. With an eye to a successful +campaign, I laid in a liberal supply of trinkets to please these +aboriginals, and found that they served their purposes admirably. So +the natives were almost universally kind to us, and their reluctance +to accompany us on this occasion showed the great fear they +entertained of the tiger.</p> + +<p>We were camped on the bank of the Ousuree, about ten miles from the +village, and passed the night without disturbance. In the morning, +while we were preparing for breakfast, one of the natives went a few +hundred yards away, to a little pond near, where he thought it +possible to spear some salmon. He waded out till he was immersed to +his waist, and then with his spear raised, stood motionless as a +statue for several minutes. Suddenly he darted the spear into the +water and drew out a large salmon, which he threw to the shore, and +their resumed his stationary position. In twenty minutes he took three +or four salmon, and then started to return to camp. Just as he climbed +the bank and had gathered his fish, a large tiger darted from the +underbrush near by, and sprung upon him as a cat would spring upon a +mouse.</p> + +<p>Stopping not a moment, the tiger ran up the hillside and disappeared. +I was looking toward the river just as the tiger sprang upon him, and +so were two of the natives; we all uttered a cry of astonishment, and +were struck motionless for an instant, though only for an instant. The +unfortunate man did not struggle with the beast, and as the latter did +not stop to do more than seize him, I suspected that the fright and +suddenness of the attack had caused a fainting fit. I and my Russian +companion seized our rifles, and the natives their spears, and started +in pursuit.</p> + +<p>We tracked the tiger through the underbrush, partly by the marks left +by his feet, but mainly by the drops of blood that had fallen from his +victim. Going over a ridge, we lost the trail, and though we spread +out and searched very carefully, it was nearly an hour before we could +resume the pursuit. Every minute seemed an age, as we well knew that +the tiger would thus gain time to devour his prey. Probably I was less +agitated than the natives, but I freely and gladly admit that I have +never had my nerves more unstrung than on that occasion, though I have +been in much greater peril. We searched through several clumps of +bushes, and examined several thickets, in the hope of finding where +the tiger had concealed himself. The natives approached all these +thickets with fear and trembling, so that most of the searching was +done by the Russian members of the party.</p> + +<p>Just as we were beating around a little clump of bushes, fifteen or +twenty yards across, my companion on the other side shouted:</p> + +<p>“Look out; the tiger is preparing to spring upon you.” Instantly I +cocked my rifle and fired into the bushes; they were so dense that I +could hardly discern the outline of the beast, who had me in full +view, and was crouching preparatory to making a leap. I called to my +friend to shoot, as the density of the thicket made it very probable +that my fire would be lost, by the ball glancing among the shrubbery. +But my friend was in the same predicament, and I quickly formed a plan +of operations.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg187-1.gif' id='lg187-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>GENERAL ACTIVITY.</p></div> + +<p>We were both good shots, and I thought our safety lay in killing the +beast as he rose in the air. Aiming at his head, I stepped slowly +backward, and shouted to my friend to cover the tiger and shoot as he +sprang. All this occurred in less time than I tell of it. Hardly had I +stepped two paces backward when the tiger leaped toward me. As he +rose, his throat was exposed for a moment, and I planted a bullet in +his breast. Simultaneously a ball from the other rifle struck his +side. We fired so closely together that neither of us heard the report +of the other’s weapon. The tiger gave a roar of agony, and despite the +wounds he received, either of which would have been fatal, he +completed his spring so nearly that he caught me by the foot and +inflicted a wound that lamed me for several months, and left permanent +scars.</p> + +<p>The natives, hearing the report of our rifles, came to our assistance, +and so great was their reverence for the tiger, that they prostrated +themselves before his quivering body, and muttered some words which I +could not understand.</p> + +<p>Though assured that the beast was dead, they hesitated to enter the +thicket to search for the body of their companion, and it was only on +my leading the way that they entered it.</p> + +<p>We found the remains of the poor native somewhat mutilated, though +less so than I expected. There was no trace of suffering upon his +features, and I was confirmed in my theory that he fainted the moment +he was seized, and was not conscious afterward. His friends insisted +upon burying the body where they found it, and said it was their +custom to do so. They piled logs above the grave, and after the +observance of certain pagan rites, to secure the repose of the +deceased, they signified their readiness to proceed.</p> + +<p>The tiger was one of the largest of his kind. I had his skin carefully +removed, and sent it with my official report to St. Petersburg. A +Chinese mandarin who met me near Lake Hinka offered me a high price +for the skin, but I declined his offer, in order to show our Emperor +what his Siberian possessions contained.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_188'></a> +<img src="images/sm188-1.gif" id='sm188-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—FLASK" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XVI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2></div> + + +<p>On the morning of September 28th we arrived at Ekaterin-Nikolskoi, a +flourishing settlement, said to contain nearly three hundred houses. +It stood on a plateau forty feet above the river, and was the best +appearing village I had seen since leaving Habarofka. The people that +gathered on the bank were comfortably clad and evidently well fed, but +I could not help wondering how so many could leave their labor to look +at a steamboat. The country was considered excellent for agriculture, +yielding abundantly all the grains that had been tried.</p> + +<p>On the Amoor the country below Gorin belongs to the Maritime province, +which has its capital at Nicolayevsk. Above Gorin is the Province of +The Amoor, controlled by the governor at Blagoveshchensk. In the +Maritime Province the settlers are generally of the civilian or +peasant class, while in the Amoor Province they are mostly Cossacks. +The latter depend more upon themselves than the former, and I was told +that this was one cause of their prosperity. Many peasants in the +Maritime Province do not raise enough flour for their own use, and +rely upon government when there is a deficiency.</p> + +<p>It is my opinion that the Emperor does too much for some of his +subjects in the eastern part of his dominions. In Kamchatka and along +the coast of the Ohotsk sea the people are supplied with flour at a +low price or for nothing, a ship coming annually to bring it. It has +been demonstrated that agriculture is possible in Kamchatka. When I +asked why rye was not raised there, one reply was: “We get our flour +from government, and have no occasion to make it.” Now if the +government would furnish the proper facilities for commencing +agriculture, and then throw the inhabitants on their own resources, I +think it would make a decided change for the better. A self-reliant +population is always the best.</p> + +<p>Some of the colonists on the Amoor went there of their own accord, +induced by liberal donations of land and materials, while others were +moved by official orders. In Siberia the government can transfer a +population at its will. A whole village may be commanded to move ten, +a hundred, or a thousand miles, and it has only to obey. The people +gather their property, take their flocks and herds, and move where +commanded. They are reimbursed for losses in changing their residence, +and the expense of new houses is borne by government. A community may +be moved from one place to another, and the settlers find themselves +surrounded by their former neighbors.</p> + +<p>The Cossacks are moved oftener than the peasants, as they are more +directly subject to orders. I found the Cossack villages on the Amoor +were generally laid out with military precision, the streets where the +ground permitted being straight as sunbeams, and the houses of equal +size. Usually each house had a small yard or flower garden in its +front, but it was not always carefully tended. Every village has a +chief or headman, who assigns each man his location and watches over +the general good of his people. When Cossacks are demanded for +government service the headman makes the selection, and all cases of +insubordination or dispute are regulated by him.</p> + +<p>A Cossack is half soldier and half citizen. He owes a certain amount +of service to the government, and is required to labor for it a given +number of days in the year. He may be called to travel as escort to +the mail or to an officer, to watch over public property, to row a +boat, construct a house, or perform any other duty in his power. In +case of war he becomes a soldier and is sent wherever required. As a +servant of government he receives rations for himself and family, but +I believe he is not paid in money. The time belonging to himself he +can devote to agriculture or any other employment he chooses.</p> + +<p>The Cossacks reside with their families, and some of them acquire +considerable property. A Russian officer told me there were many +wealthy Cossacks along the Argoon river on the boundary between Russia +and China. They trade across the frontier, and own large droves of +cattle, horses, and sheep. Some of their houses are spacious and +fitted with considerable attempt at luxury. The Amoor settlements are +at present too young to possess much wealth.</p> + +<p>Soon after leaving Ekaterin-Nikolskoi we entered the Buryea or Hingan +mountains. This chain extends across the valley of the Amoor at nearly +right angles, and the river flows through it in a single narrow +defile. The mountains first reach the river on the northern bank, the +Chinese shore continuing low for thirteen miles higher up. There are +no islands, and the river, narrowed to about half a mile, flows with a +rapid current. In some places it runs five miles an hour, and its +depth is from fifty to a hundred feet. The mountains come to the river +on either bank, sometimes in precipitous cliffs, but generally in +regular slopes.</p> + +<p>Their elevation is about a thousand feet, and they are covered to +their summits with dense forests of foliferous and coniferous trees. +Occasionally the slopes are rocky or covered with loose debris that +does not give clinging room to the trees. The undergrowth is dense, +and everything indicates a good vegetation.</p> + +<p>The mountains are of mica-schist, clay-slate, and rocks of similar +origin resting upon an axis of granite. Porphyry has been found in one +locality. According to the geologists there are indications of gold +and other precious metals, and I would not be surprised if a thorough +exploration led to valuable discoveries.</p> + +<p>As the boat struggled against the current in this mountain passage I +spent most of the time on deck. The tortuous course of the river added +much to the scenic effect. Almost every minute the picture changed. +Hill, forest, cliff, and valley assumed different aspects as we wound +our sinuous way up the defile. Here and there were tiny cascades +breaking over the steep rocks to the edge of the river, and +occasionally a little meadow peeped out from the mountain valleys. +Some features of the scenery reminded me of the Highlands of the +Hudson, or the Mississippi above Lake Pepin. At times we seemed +completely enclosed in a lake from which there was no escape save by +climbing the hills. Frequently it was impossible to discover any trace +of an opening half a mile in our front. Had we been ascending an +unexplored river I should have half expected to find it issuing like a +huge spring from the base of a high mountain.</p> + +<p>The Russian villages in these mountains are located in the valleys of +streams flowing to the Amoor. In one bend we found a solitary house +newly-erected and waiting its occupants who should, keep the +post-station in winter. We sent a Cossack ashore in a skiff at this +point, and he came near falling into the river while descending the +steps at the steamer’s side. While returning from the bank one of the +men in the skiff broke an oar and fell overboard, which obliged us to +back the steamer nearly half a mile down the river to pick him up. The +unlucky individual was arrayed in the only suit of clothes he +possessed, and was hung up to dry in the engine room.</p> + +<p>A mile above this landing place we passed two Manjour boats ascending +the stream. These boats were each about twenty feet long, sitting low +in the water with the bow more elevated than the stern, and had a mast +in the center for carrying a small sail. In the first boat I counted +six men, four pushing with poles, one steering, and the sixth, +evidently the proprietor, lying at ease on the baggage. Where the +nature of the ground permits the crew walk along the shore and tow the +boat.</p> + +<p>The men were in cotton garments and conical hats, and their queues of +hair hung like ships pennants in a dead calm, or the tails of a group +of scared dogs. They seemed to enjoy themselves, and were laughing +merrily as we went past them. They waved their hands up the stream as +if urging us to go ahead and say they were coming. The one reclining +was a venerable personage, with a thin beard fringing a sedate visage, +into which he drew long whiffs and comfort from a Chinese pipe.</p> + +<p>These boats were doubtless from Kirin or San-Sin, on their way to +Igoon. The voyage must be a tedious one to any but a Mongol, much like +the navigation of the Mississippi before the days of steam-boats. In +spite of the great advantages to commerce, the Manjours resisted to +the last the introduction of steam on the Amoor just as they now +oppose it on the Songaree.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg193-1.gif' id='lg193-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>MANJOUR BOAT.</p></div> + +<p>In the language of the natives along its banks the Amoor has several +names. The Chinese formerly called the Songaree ‘Ku-tong,’ and +considered the lower Amoor a part of that stream. Above the Songaree +the Amoor was called ‘Sakhalin-Oula,’ (black water,) by the Manjours +and Chinese. The Goldees named it ‘Mongo,’ and the Gilyaks called it +‘Mamoo.’ The name Amoor was given by the Russians, and is considered a +corruption of the Gilyak word. When Mr. Collins descended, in 1857, +the natives near Igoon did not or would not understand him when he +spoke of the Amoor. They called the river ‘Sakhalin,’ a name which the +Russians gave to the long island at the mouth of the Amoor. As the +Mongolian maps do not reach the outside world I presume the Russian +names are most likely to endure with geographers. The upper part of +the defile of the Buryea Mountains is wider and has more meadows than +the lower portion. On one of these meadows, where there is a +considerable extent of arable land, we found the village of Raddevski, +named in honor of the naturalist Raddy, who explored this region. The +resources here were excellent, if I may judge by the quantity and +quality of edibles offered to our steward. The people of both sexes +flocked to the landing with vegetables, bread, chickens, butter, and +other good things in much larger quantity than we desired. There was a +liberal supply of pigs and chickens, with many wild geese and ducks. +We bought a pig and kept him on board three or four days. He squealed +without cessation, until our captain considered him a bore, and +ordered him killed and roasted.</p> + +<p>Pigs were generally carried in bags or in the arms of their owners. +One day a woman brought a thirty pound pig suspended over her +shoulder. The noise and kicking of the brute did not disturb her, and +she held him as unconcernedly as if he were an infant. Finding no +market for her property, she turned it loose and allowed it to take +its own way home. Milk was almost invariably brought in bottles, and +eggs in boxes or baskets. Eggs were sold by the dizaine (ten,) and not +as with us by the dozen.</p> + +<p>At Raddevski several kinds of berries were offered us, but only the +blackberry and whortleberry were familiar to my eyes. One berry, of +which I vainly tried to catch the Russian name, was of oblong shape, +three-fourths an inch in length, and had the taste of a sweet grape. +It was said to grow on a climbing vine. Cedar nuts were offered in +large quantities, but I did not purchase.</p> + +<p>Here, as elsewhere on the lower Amoor, men and women labor together in +the fields and engage equally in marketing at the boats. I was much +amused in watching the commercial transactions between the peasants +and our steward. I could not understand what was said, but the +conversation in loud tones and with many words had much the appearance +of an altercation. Several times I looked around expecting to see +blows, but the excitement was confined to the vocal organs alone.</p> + +<p>The passage of the Amoor through the Buryea mountains is nearly a +hundred miles in length. Toward the upper end the mountains are more +precipitous and a few peaks rise high above the others, like The +Sentinels in Yosemite valley. The last cliff before one reaches the +level country is known as Cape Sverbef, a bold promontory that +projects into the river and is nearly a thousand feet high. Not far +from this cliff is a flat-topped mountain remarkable for several +crevices on its northern side, from which currents of cold air +steadily issue. Ice forms around these fissures in midsummer, and a +thermometer suspended in one of them fell in an hour to 30° +Fahrenheit.</p> + +<p>An hour after passing the mountains I saw a dozen conical huts on the +Chinese shore and a few dusky natives lounging in front of them. They +reminded me of the lodges of our noble red men as I saw them west of +the Missouri several years before. Instead of being Cheyennes or Sioux +they proved to be Birars, a tribe of wandering Tunguse who inhabit +this region. Their dwellings wore of light poles covered with birch +bark. One of the native gentlemen was near the bank of the river in +the attitude of an orator, but not properly dressed for a public +occasion. His only garments were a hat and a string of beads, and he +was accompanied by a couple of young ladies in the same picturesque +costume, minus the hat and beads.</p> + +<p>These Tungusians lead a nomadic life. Above the mouth of the Zeya +there are two other tribes of similar character, the Managres and +Orochons. The principal difference between them is that the former +keep the horse and the latter the reindeer. The Birars have no beasts +of burden except a very few horses.</p> + +<p>None of these people live in permanent houses, but move about wherever +attracted by fishing or the chase. During spring and summer they +generally live on the banks of the river, where they catch and cure +fish. Their scaffoldings and storehouses were like those of the +natives already described, and during their migrations are left +without guards and universally respected. Their fish are dried for +winter use, and they sell the roe of the sturgeon to the Russians for +making caviar.</p> + +<p>My first acquaintance with caviar was at Nicolayevsk, and I soon +learned to like it. It is generally eaten with bread, and forms an +important ingredient in the Russian lunch. On the Volga its +preparation engages a great many men, and the caviar from that river +is found through the whole empire. Along the Amoor the business is in +its infancy, the production thus far being for local consumption. I +think if some enterprising American would establish the preparation of +caviar on the Hudson where the sturgeon is abundant, he could make a +handsome profit in shipping it to Russia.</p> + +<p>The roe is taken from the fish and carefully washed. The membrane that +holds the eggs together is then broken, and after a second washing the +substance is ready for salting. One kind for long carriage and +preservation is partially dried and then packed and sealed in tin +cans. The other is put in kegs, without pressing, and cannot be kept a +long time.</p> + +<p>In the autumn and winter the natives are hunters. They chase elk and +deer for their flesh, and sables, martens, and squirrels for their +furs. Squirrels are especially abundant, and a good hunter will +frequently kill a thousand in a single season. The Siberian squirrel +of commerce comes from this region by way of Irkutsk and St. +Petersburg. The natives hunt the bear and are occasionally hunted by +him.</p> + +<p>At one landing a Birar exhibited an elk skin which he wished to +exchange for tobacco, and was quite delighted when I gave him a small +quantity of the latter. He showed me a scar on his arm where a bear +had bitten him two or three years before. The marks of the teeth and +the places where the flesh was torn could be easily seen, but I was +unable to learn the particulars of his adventure.</p> + +<p>These Tungusians are rather small in stature, and their arms and legs +are thin. Their features are broad, their mouths large and lips +narrow, and their hair is black and smooth, the men having very little +beard. Their clothing is of the skins of elk and deer, with some +garments of cotton cloth of Chinese manufacture. Most of the men I saw +wore a belt at the waist, to which several articles of daily use were +attached.</p> + +<p>At each Russian settlement above the mountains I observed a large post +painted in the official colors and supporting a board inscribed with +the name of the village. It was fixed close to the landing place, and +evidently designed for the convenience of strangers. One of my +exercises in learning the language of the country was to spell the +names on these signs. I found I could usually spell much faster if I +knew beforehand the name of a village. It was like having a Bohn’s +translation of a Latin exercise.</p> + +<p>At the village of Inyakentief I saw the first modern fortification +since leaving Nicolayevsk,—a simple lunette without cannon but with +several hundred cannon shot somewhat rusty with age. The governor of +this village was a prince by title, and evidently controlled his +subjects very well. I saw Madame the princess, but did not have the +pleasure of her acquaintance. She was dressed in a costume of which +crinoline, silk, and ribbons were component parts, contrasting sharply +with the coarse garments of the peasant women.</p> + +<p>This village had recently sold a large quantity of wheat and rye to +the government. It had the best church I had seen since leaving +Nicolayevsk, and its general appearance was prosperous. Among the +women that came to the boat was one who recognized Borasdine as an old +acquaintance. She hastened back to her house and brought him two +loaves of bread made from wheat of that year’s growth. As a token of +friendship he gave her a piece of sugar weighing a pound or two and a +glass of bad brandy that brought many tears to her eyes. I think she +was at least fifteen minutes drinking the fiery liquid, which she +sipped as one would take a compound of cayenne pepper and boiling +water. The worst ‘tanglefoot’ or ‘forty-rod’ from Cincinnati or St. +Louis would have been nectar by the side of that brandy.</p> + +<p>The country for a hundred miles or more above the Buryea mountains was +generally level. Here and there were hills and ridges, and in the +background on the south a few mountains were visible. There were many +islands which, with the banks of alluvium, were evidently cut by the +river in high freshets. Where the beach sloped to the water there was +a little driftwood, and I could see occasional logs resting upon +islands and sand bars.</p> + +<p>When taken in a tumbler the water of the Amoor appeared perfectly +clear, but in the river it had a brownish tinge. There were no snags +and no floating timber. I never fancied an iron boat for river travel +owing to the ease of puncturing it. On the Mississippi or Missouri it +would be far from safe, but on the Amoor there are fewer perils of +navigation. More boats have been lost there from carelessness or +ignorance than from accidents really unavoidable. The Amoor is much +like what the Mississippi would be with all its snags removed and its +channel made permanent.</p> + +<p>While among the islands I saw a small flotilla of boats in line across +a channel, and after watching them through a glass discovered they +were hauling a net. There were ten or twelve summer huts on the point +of an island, and the boats were at least twice as many. A dozen men +on shore were hauling a net that appeared well filled with fish. I do +not think a single native looked up as we passed. Possibly they have a +rule there not to attend to outside matters when exercising their +professions.</p> + +<hr /> +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XVII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2></div> + + +<p>The second day above the mountains we passed a region of wide prairie +stretching far to the north and bearing a dense growth of rank grass +and bushes, with a few clumps of trees. On the Chinese side there were +hills that sloped gently to the river’s edge or left a strip of meadow +between them and the water. Many hills were covered with a thin forest +of oaks and very little underbrush. At a distance the ground appeared +as if carefully trimmed for occupation, especially as it had a few +open places like fields. In the sere and yellow leaf of autumn these +groves were charming, and I presume they are equally so in the fresh +verdure of summer.</p> + +<p>If by some magic the Amoor could be transferred to America, and change +its mouth from the Gulf of Tartary to the Bay of New York, a multitude +of fine mansions would soon rise on its banks.</p> + +<p>Among the islands that stud this portion of the river we passed the +steamer Constantine with two barges in tow. She left Nicolayevsk +twelve days before us, and her impediments made her journey a slow +one. Her barges were laden with material for the Amoor telegraph, then +under construction. About the same time we met the Nicolai towing a +barge with a quantity of cattle destined for the garrison at the mouth +of the river. The Nicolai was the property of a merchant (Mr. Ludorf) +at Nicolayevsk.</p> + +<p>The village of Poyarkof, where we stopped for wood, impressed me very +favorably. It was carefully laid out, and its single street had a wide +and deep ditch on each side, crossed by little bridges. The houses +were well built and had an air of neatness, while all the fences were +substantial. Very few persons visited the boat, most of the +inhabitants being at work in the fields. We walked through the +settlement, and were shown specimens of wheat and rye grown in the +vicinity. Four or five men, directed by a priest, were building a +church, and two others were cutting plank near by with a primitive +‘up-and-down’ saw. The officer controlling the village was temporarily +absent with the farm laborers. All around there were proofs of his +energy and industry.</p> + +<p>This village was one of the military colonies of the Province of the +Amoor. When in proper hands the military settlement is preferable to +any other, as the men are more accustomed to obeying orders and work +in greater harmony than the peasants. What is most needed is an +efficient and energetic chief to each village, who has and deserves +the confidence of his people. With enough of the <i>fortiter in re</i> to +repress any developments of laziness and prevent intemperance, such a +man can do much for the government and himself.</p> + +<p>If His Imperial Majesty will take nine-tenths of his present military +force on the Amoor, place it in villages, allow the men to send for +their families, and put the villages in the hands of proper chiefs +under a general superintendent, he will take a long step toward making +the new region self-sustaining. We have ample proof in America that an +army is an expensive luxury, and the cost of maintaining it is +proportioned to its strength. The verb ‘to soldier’ has a double +meaning in English, and will bear translation. On distant stations +like the Amoor, the military force could be safely reduced to a small +figure in time of peace. Less play and more work would be better for +the country and the men.</p> + +<p>As we proceeded up the river there was another change of the native +population. The tents of the Birars disappeared, and we entered the +region of the Manjours and Chinese. The captain called my attention to +the first Manjour village we passed. The dwellings were one story +high, their walls being of wood with a plastering of mud. The chimneys +were on the outside like those of the Goldees already described, and +the roofs of the houses were thatched with straw.</p> + +<p>The Manjour villages are noticeable for the gardens in and around +them. Each house that I saw had a vegetable garden that appeared well +cultivated. In the corner of nearly every garden I observed a small +building like a sentry box. In some doubt as to its use, I asked +information of my Russian friends, and learned it was a temple where +the family idols are kept and the owners go to offer their prayers.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg201-1.gif' id='lg201-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A PRIVATE TEMPLE.</p></div> + +<p>Near each village was a grove which enclosed a public temple on the +plan of a church in civilized countries. The temple was generally a +square house, built with more care and neatness than the private +dwellings. On entering, one found himself in a kind of ante-room, +separated from the main apartment by a pink curtain. This curtain has +religious inscriptions in Chinese and Manjour. In the inner apartment +there are pictures of Chinese deities, with a few hideous idols carved +in wood. A table in front of the pictures receives the offerings of +worshippers.</p> + +<p>The Manjours appear very fond of surrounding their temples with trees, +and this is particularly noticeable on account of the scarcity of wood +in this region. Timber comes from points higher up the Amoor, where it +is cut and rafted down. Small trees and bushes are used as fuel and +always with the strictest economy. The grove around the temple is held +sacred, as among the Druids in England, and I presume a native would +suffer long from cold before cutting a consecrated tree.</p> + +<p>Along the river near the first village several boats were moored or +drawn on the bank out of reach of the water. A few men and women stood +looking at us, and some of them shouted ‘<i>mendow</i>’ when we were +directly opposite their position. Of course we returned their +salutation.</p> + +<p>Unlike the aboriginals lower down the river, the Manjours till the +soil and make it their chief dependence. I saw many fields where the +grain was uncut, and others where it had been reaped and stacked. The +stacks were so numerous in proportion to the population that there +must be a large surplus each year. Evidently there is no part of the +Amoor valley more fertile than this. Horses and cattle were grazing in +the meadows and looked up as we steamed along. We passed a dozen +horses drinking from the river, and set them scampering with our +whistle.</p> + +<p>The horse is used here for carrying light loads, but with heavy +burdens the ox finds preference. Along the Chinese shore I frequently +saw clumsy carts moving at a snail-like pace between the villages. +Each cart had its wheels fixed on an axle that generally turned with +them. Frequently there was a lack of grease, and the screeching of the +vehicle was rather unpleasant to tender nerves.</p> + +<p>Near the village we met a Manjour boat, evidently the property of a +merchant. The difference between going with and against the current +was apparent by comparing the progress of this boat with the one I saw +in the Buryea mountains. One struggled laboriously against the stream, +but the other had nothing to do beyond keeping where the water ran +swiftest. This one carried a small flag, and was deeply laden with +merchandise. The crew was dozing and the man at the helm did not +appear more than half awake.</p> + +<p>Villages were passed in rapid succession, and the density of the +population was in agreeable contrast to the desolation of many parts +of the lower Amoor. It was a panorama of houses, temples, groves, and +fields, with a surrounding of rich meadows and gentle hills. There +was a range of low mountains in the background, but on the Russian +shore the flat prairie continued.</p> + +<p>In the middle of the afternoon we passed the town of Yah-tou-kat-zou, +situated on the Chinese shore where the river makes a bend toward the +north and east. It had nothing of special interest, but its gardens +were more extensive and more numerous than in the villages below. Just +above it there was a bay forming a neat harbor containing several +boats and barges. When the Chinese controlled the Amoor they occupied +this bay as a dock-yard and naval station. Had my visit been ten or +twelve years earlier I should have seen several war junks anchored +here. When the Russians obtained the river the Chinese transferred +their navy to the Songaree.</p> + +<p>From this ancient navy yard the villages stretched in a nearly +continuous line along the southern bank, and were quite frequent on +the northern one. We saw three Manjour women picking berries on the +Russian shore. One carried a baby over her shoulders much after the +manner of the American Indians. These women wore garments of blue +cotton shaped much like the gowns of the Russian peasants. Near them a +boat was moving along the shore, carrying a crew consisting of a man, +a boy, and a dog. The boat, laden with hay, was evidently destined for +‘cows and a market.’ Near it was another boat rowed by two men, +carrying six women and a quantity of vegetables. Some of the women +were sorting the vegetables, and all watched our boat with interest. +From the laughter as we passed I concluded the remarks on our +appearance were not complimentary.</p> + +<p>The scene on this part of the river was picturesque. There were many +boats, from the little canoe or ‘dug-out,’ propelled by one man, up to +the barge holding several tons of merchandise. The one-man boats were +managed with a double-bladed oar, such as I have already described. +Nearly every boat that carried a mast had a flag or streamer attached +to it, and some had dragons’ heads on their bows. Would Lindley +Murray permit me to say that I saw one barge manned by ten women?</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg204-1.gif' id='lg204-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FISHING IMPLEMENTS.</p></div> + +<p>Though subsisting mainly by agriculture and pastoral pursuits, the +Manjours devote considerable time to fishing. One fishing implement +bore a faint resemblance to a hand-cart, as it had an axle with two +small wheels and long handles. A frame over the axle sustained a pole, +to which a net was fastened. The machine could be pushed into the +water and the net lowered to any position suitable for entrapping +fish.</p> + +<p>Occasionally I saw a native seated on the top of a tripod about ten +feet high, placed at the edge of the river. Here he fished with pole, +net, or spear, according to circumstances. He always appeared to me as +if left there during a freshet and waiting for the river to rise and +let him off.</p> + +<p>At one place two boys were seated cross-legged near the water and +fishing with long poles. They were so intent in looking at us that +they did not observe the swell of the steamer until thoroughly +drenched by it. As they stood dripping on the sand they laughed +good-naturedly at the occurrence, and soon seated themselves again at +their employment.</p> + +<p>Late in the afternoon I saw a village larger than all the others, +lying in a bend of the river, stretching three or four miles along the +bank and a less distance away from it. This was Igoon, the principal +place of the Chinese on the Amoor, and once possessing considerable +power. Originally the fort and town of Igoon were on the left bank of +the river, four miles below the present site. The location was changed +in 1690, and when the new town was founded it grew quite rapidly. For +a long time it was a sort of Botany Bay for Pekin, and its early +residents were mostly exiles. At present its population is variously +estimated from twenty to fifty thousand. The Chinese do not give any +information on this point, and the Russian figures concerning it are +based upon estimates.</p> + +<p>Igoon was formerly the capital of the Chinese ‘Province of the +Arnoor,’ but is now destitute of that honor. The seat of government +was removed about twenty years ago to Sit-si-gar.</p> + +<p>As we approached Igoon I could see below it many herds of cattle and +horses driven by mounted men. There was every appearance of +agricultural prosperity. It was near the end of harvest, and most of +the grain was stacked in the fields. Here and there were laborers at +work, and I could see many people on the bank fronting the river. +Around the city were groves enclosing the temples which held the +shrines consecrated to Mongol worship, as the cross is reverenced by +the followers of the Christian faith.</p> + +<p>The city had a sombre look, as all the houses were black. The +buildings were of wood plastered with mud, and nearly all of one +story. Over the temples in the city there were flag-staffs, but with +no banners hanging from them or on the outer walls. The governor’s +house and the arsenals were similarly provided with tall poles rising +from the roofs, but here as elsewhere no flags were visible.</p> + +<p>Along the beach there were many rafts of logs beside numerous boats +either drawn on shore or moored to posts or stakes. Fishermen and boys +were sitting cross-legged near the water, and the inattention of +several caused their drenching by our swell. Idle men stood on the +bank above the beach, nearly all smoking their little brass pipes with +apparent unconcern. Men and women, principally the latter, were +carrying water from the river in buckets, which they balanced from the +ends of a neck-yoke.</p> + +<p>We dropped anchor and threw a line that was made fast by a young +Manjour. On shore we met several residents, who greeted us civilly and +addressed the captain in Russian. Most of the Manjour merchants have +learned enough Russian to make a general conversation, especially in +transacting business.</p> + +<p>I was introduced as an American who had come a long distance purposely +to see Igoon. The governor was absent, so that it was not possible to +call on him. We were shown to a temple near at hand, a building +fifteen feet by thirty, with a red curtain at the door and a thick +carpet of matting over a brick pavement. The altar was veiled, but its +covering was lifted to allow me to read, if I could, the inscription +upon it. It stood close to the entrance, like the screen near the door +of a New York bar-room. There were several pictures on the walls, a +few idols, and some lanterns painted in gaudy colors. Outside there +were paintings over the door, some representing Chinese landscapes. +The windows were of lattice work, the roof had a dragon’s head at each +end of the ridge, and a mosaic pavement extended like a sidewalk +around the entire building.</p> + +<p>Our guide, who lived near, invited us to his house. We entered it +through his office, which contained a table, three or four chairs, and +a few account books. Out of this we walked into a large apartment used +for lounging by day and sleeping at night. Its principal furniture was +a wide divan, at one side, where the bed clothing of three or four +persons was rolled into neat bundles. It turned out on inquiry that +the man lived in two houses, the principal part of his family being +domiciled several squares away. As time pressed we did not stop longer +than to thank him for his attention.</p> + +<p>The streets of Igoon reminded me of New York under the contract system +four or five years ago. We walked through one street upon a narrow log +fixed in the mud, and steadied ourselves against a high fence. On a +larger thoroughfare there were some dry spots, but as there were two +logs to walk upon we balanced very well. Chinese streets rarely have +sidewalks, and every pedestrian must care for himself the best way he +can. The rains the week before my visit had reduced the public ways to +a disagreeable condition. Were I to describe the measurement of the +Broadway of Igoon, I should say its length was two miles, more or +less, its width fifty feet, and its depth two feet.</p> + +<p>Our captain carried a sword cane which confused him a little as the +lower part occasionally stuck in the mud and came off. This exposition +of weapons he evidently wished to avoid. On the principal street I +found several stores, and, true to the instinct of the American +abroad, stopped to buy something. The stores had the front open to the +street, so that one could stand before the counter and make his +purchases without entering. The first store I saw had six or seven +clerks and very little else, and as I did not wish a Chinese clerk I +moved to another shop.</p> + +<p>For the articles purchased I paid only five times their actual value, +as I afterward learned. The merchants and their employees appeared to +talk Russian quite fluently, and were earnest in urging me to buy. One +of them imitated the tactics of Chatham street, and became very +voluble over things I did not want.</p> + +<p>Holding up an article he praised its good qualities and named its +price.</p> + +<p>“Five roubles; very good; five roubles.”</p> + +<p>I shook my head.</p> + +<p>“Four roubles; yes; good; four roubles.”</p> + +<p>Again I made a negation.</p> + +<p>“Three roubles; very good; yes.”</p> + +<p>I continued shaking my head as he fell to two and a half, two, and +finally to one rouble. I left him at that figure, or it is possible he +would have gone still lower.</p> + +<p>“They are great rascals,” said Borasdine as we walked away. “They ask +ten times the real price and hope to cheat you in some way. It is +difficult to buy anything here for its actual value.”</p> + +<p>We went through more streets and more mud, passing butchers’ shops +where savage dogs growled with that amiable tone peculiar to butcher +dogs everywhere. We passed tea shops, shoe shops, drug stores, and +other establishments, each with a liberal number of clerks. Labor must +be cheap, profits large, or business brisk, to enable the merchants to +maintain so many employees.</p> + +<p>At the end of a long street we came to the guard-house, near the +entrance of the military quarters. We entered the dirty barrack, but +saw nothing particularly interesting. I attempted to go inside the +room where the instruments of punishment were kept, but the guard +stood in the way and would not move. The soldiers in this +establishment had evidently partaken of a beverage stronger than tea, +as they were inclined to too much familiarity. One patted me on the +shoulder and pressed my hand affectionately, indulging the while in +snatches of Chinese songs.</p> + +<p>In the prison were two or three unfortunates with their feet shackled +so as to prevent their stepping more than four inches at a time. While +we stood there a gaily dressed officer rode past us on a magnificent +horse, reminding me of an American militia hero on training day. We +looked at the fence of palisades, and stepped under the gateway +leading to the government quarter. Over the gate was a small room like +the drawbridge room in a castle of the middle ages. Twenty men could +be lodged there to throw arrows, hot water, or Chinese perfumery on +the invading foe.</p> + +<p>A Manjour acquaintance of our captain invited us to visit his house. +We entered through the kitchen, where there was a man frying a kind of +‘twisted doughnut’ in vegetable oil. The flour he used was ground in +the Manjour mills, and lacked the fineness of European or American +flour. Judging by the quantity of food visible the family must have +been a large one.</p> + +<p>The head of the household proclaimed himself a Tartar, and said he +was the proprietor of four wives. I smoked a cigar with him, and +during our interview Borasdine hinted that we would like to inspect +his harem. After a little decorous hesitation, he led us across an +open and muddy courtyard to a house where a dozen women were in the +confusion of preparing and eating supper. With four wives one must +have a proportionate number of servants and retainers, else he cannot +maintain ‘style.’</p> + +<p>Such a scene of confusion I never saw before in one man’s family. +There were twelve or fifteen children of different ages and sexes, and +not one silent. Some were at table, some quarreling, some going to +sleep, and some waking. Two women were in serious dispute, and the +Tartar words poured out freely. The room was hot, stifling, and filled +with as many odors as the city of Cologne, and we were glad to escape +into the open air as soon as possible. I did not envy that Mongol +gentleman his domestic bliss, and am inclined to think he considered +it no joke to be as much married as he was.</p> + +<p>I did not sec any pretty women at Igoon, but learned afterward that +they exist there. The Manjour style of hair-dressing attracts the eye +of a stranger. The men plait the hair after the Chinese manner, +shaving the fore part of the head. The women wind theirs in a peculiar +knot, in about the position of the French chignon. They pierce this +knot with two long pins like knitting needles, and trim it with bright +ribbons and real or artificial flowers. The fashion is becoming, and, +excluding the needles, I would not be surprised to see it in vogue in +Western civilization within half a dozen years.</p> + +<p>The men wore long blue coats of cotton or silk, generally the former, +loose linen trousers, fastened at the knee or made into leggings, and +Chinese shoes or boots of skin. The women dress in pantaletts and blue +cotton gowns with short, loose sleeves, above which they wear at times +a silk cape or mantle. They have ear rings, bracelets, and finger +rings in profusion, and frequently display considerable taste in their +adornment. It was nearly sunset when we landed at Igoon, and when we +finished our visit to the Tartar family the stars were out. The delay +of the boat was entirely to give me a view of a Chinese-Manjour city. +Darkness put an end to sight-seeing, and so we hastened to the +steamer, followed by a large crowd of natives.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<a name='ILLUS_210'></a> +<img src="images/lg210-1.gif" id='lg210-1' class='ig001' +alt="" /> +<p>A CHINESE FAMILY PICTURE.</p></div> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<p>We took three or four Manjour merchants as passengers to +Blagoveshchensk. One of them spent the evening in our cabin, but would +neither drink alcoholic beverages nor smoke. This appeared rather odd +among a people who smoke persistently and continually. Men, women, and +children are addicted to the practice, and the amount of tobacco they +burn is enormous.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XVIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>At daylight on the morning after leaving Igoon, we were passing the +mouth of the Zeya, a river half a mile wide, flowing with a strong +current. It was along this river that the first white men who saw the +Amoor found their way. It is said to be practicable for steam +navigation three or four hundred miles from its mouth. At present four +or five thousand peasants are settled along the Zeya, with excellent +agricultural prospects. As I came on deck rubbing my half-opened eyes, +I saw a well-built town on the Russian shore.</p> + +<p>“Blagoveshchensk,” said the steward, as he waved his arm in that +direction.</p> + +<p>I well knew that the capital of the Province of the Amoor was just +above the mouth of the Zeya. It stands on a prairie fifteen or twenty +feet above the river, and when approached from the south its +appearance is pleasing. The houses are large and well built, and each +has plenty of space around it. Some of them have flower gardens in +front, and a public park was well advanced toward completion at the +time of my arrival.</p> + +<p>A wharf extended into the river at an angle of forty degrees with the +shore. The steamer Korsackoff was moored at this wharf, with a barge +nearly her own size. The Ingodah tied to the bank just below the +wharf, and was welcomed by the usual crowd of soldiers and citizens, +with a fair number of Manjours from the other bank.</p> + +<p>On landing, I called upon Colonel Pedeshenk, the governor of the +Province, and delivered my letters of introduction. The Colonel +invited me to dine with him that day, and stated that several +officers of his command would be present. After this visit and a few +others, I went with Captain Borasdine to attend the funeral of the +late Major General Bussy. This gentleman was five years governor of +the Province of the Amoor, and resigned in 1866 on account of +ill-health. He died on his way to St. Petersburg, and the news of his +death reached Blagoveshchensk three days before my arrival. I happened +to reach the town on the morning appointed for the funeral service.</p> + +<p>The church was crowded, everybody standing, according to the custom +prevailing in Russia. Colonel Pedeshenk and his officers were in full +uniform, and almost all present held lighted candles. Five or six +priests, with an Archbishop, conducted the ceremonies. The services +consisted of a ritual, read and intoned by the priests, with chanting +by the choir of male voices. The Archbishop was in full robes +belonging to his position, and his long gray beard and reverend face +gave him a patriarchal appearance. When the ceremony was finished the +congregation opened to the right and left to permit the governor and +officers to pass out first. From beginning to end the service lasted +about an hour.</p> + +<p>Colonel Pedeshenk had been governor but a few months, and awaited +confirmation in his position. Having served long on the staff of +General Bussy, he was disposed to follow in the footsteps of his +predecessor and carry out his plans for developing the resources of +his district.</p> + +<p>At the appointed hour I went to dine at the governor’s, where I found +eight or ten officers and the young wife of Colonel Pedeshenk. We +spent a half-hour on the balcony, where there was a charming view of +the river and the Chinese shore with its background of mountains. The +governor’s house was more like a mansion in a venerable town than in a +settlement less than ten years old. The reception hall would have made +a good ball-room anywhere out of the large cities.</p> + +<p>The charming young madame did not speak English but was fluent in +French. She was from Irkutsk, and had spent several years in the +schools and society of St. Petersburg. She had many reminiscences of +the capital, and declared herself delighted with her home on the +Amoor. After dinner we retired to the balcony for prosaic tea drinking +and a poetical study of the glories of an autumn sunset behind the +hills of Manjouria.</p> + +<p>There was no hotel in the town, and I had wondered where I should +lodge. Before I had been half an hour on shore, I was invited by Dr. +Snider, the surgeon in chief of the province, to make my home at his +house. The doctor spoke English fluently, and told me he learned it +from a young American at Ayan several years before. He was ten years +in government service at Ayan, and met there many of my countrymen. +Once he contemplated emigrating to New Bedford at the urgent +solicitation of a whaling captain who frequently came to the Ohotsk +sea.</p> + +<p>Dr. Snider was from the German provinces of Russia, and his wife, a +sister of Admiral Fulyelm, was born in Sweden. They usually conversed +in German but addressed their children in Russian. They had a Swedish +housemaid who spoke her own language in the family and only used +Russian when she could not do otherwise. Madame Snider told me her +children spoke Swedish and Russian with ease, and understood German +very well. They intended having a French or English governess in +course of time.</p> + +<p>“I speak,” said the doctor, “German with my wife, Swedish to the +housemaid, Russian to my other servants, French with some of the +officers, English with occasional travelers, and a little Chinese and +Manjour with the natives over the river.”</p> + +<p>Blagoveshchensk has a pretty situation, and I should greatly prefer it +to Nicolayevsk for permanent habitation. In the middle of the Amoor +valley and at the mouth of the Zeya, its commercial advantages are +good and its importance increases every year. It was founded in 1858 +by General Mouravieff, but did not receive any population worthy of +mention until after the treaty of Igoon in 1860. The government +buildings are large and well constructed, logs being the material in +almost universal use for making walls. A large unfinished house for +the telegraph was pointed out to me, and several warehouses were in +process of erection.</p> + +<p>Late one afternoon the captain of the steamer Korsackoff invited me to +visit Sakhalin-Oula-Hotun (city of the black river) on the opposite +shore. Though called a city it cannot justly claim more than two +thousand inhabitants. There was a crowd on the bank similar to the one +at Igoon, most of the women and girls standing with their arms folded +in their sleeves. Several were seated close to the water and met the +same misfortune as those in similar positions at Igoon. The Korsackoff +made a much greater swell than the Ingodah, and those who caught its +effects were well moistened. We landed from, the steamer’s boat and +ascended the bank to the village. Several fat old Manjours eyed us +closely and answered with great brevity our various questions.</p> + +<p>Sakhalin-Oula stretches more than a mile along the bank, but extends +only a few rods back from the river. Practically it consists of a +single street, which is quite narrow in several places. The houses are +like those of Igoon, with frames of logs and coverings of boards, or +with log walls plastered with mud. The windows of stores and dwellings +are of lattice work covered with oiled paper, glass being rarely used.</p> + +<p>The roofs of the buildings were covered with thatch of wheat straw +several inches thick, that must offer excellent facilities for taking +fire. Probably the character of this thatch accounts for the chimneys +rising ten or fifteen feet from, the buildings. I saw several men +arranging one of these roofs. On a foundation of poles they laid +bundles of straw, overlapping them as we overlap shingles, and cutting +the boards to allow the straw to spread evenly. This kind of covering +must be renewed every two or three years. Several thatches were very +much decayed, and in one of them there was a fair growth of grass. The +village was embowered in trees in contrast to the Russian shore where +the only trees were those in the park. I endeavored to ascertain the +cause of this difference, but could not. The Russians said there was +often a variation of three or four degrees in the temperature of the +two banks, the Chinese one being the milder. Timber for both Chinese +and Russian use is cut in the forests up the Amoor and rafted down.</p> + +<p>Sakhalin-Oula abounded in vegetable gardens, which supplied the market +of Blagoveshchensk. The number of shops both there and at Igoon led me +to consider the Manjours a population of shop-keepers. Dr. Snider said +they brought him everything for ordinary table use, and would contract +to furnish at less than the regular price, any article sold by the +Russian merchants. In their enterprise and mode of dealing they were +much like the Jews of Europe and America, which may account for their +being called Manjours. Once a month during the full moon they come to +Blagoveshchensk and open a fair, which continues seven days. They sell +flour, buckwheat, beans, poultry, eggs, vegetables, and other edible +articles. The Russians usually purchase a month’s supply at these +times, but when they wish anything out of the fair season the Manjours +are ready to furnish it.</p> + +<p>We walked along a narrow street, less muddy than the streets of Igoon, +and passed several cattle yards enclosed with high fences, like +California corrals. In one yard there were cattle and horses, so +densely packed that they could not kick freely. Groups of natives +stared at us while smoking their little pipes, and doubtless wondered +why we came there. Several eyed me closely and asked my companions who +and what I could be. The explanation that I was American conveyed no +information, as very few of them ever heard of the land of the free +and the former home of the slave.</p> + +<p>One large building with a yard in front and an inscription over its +gate was pointed out as a government office. Several employees of the +Emperor of China were standing at the gateway, all smoking and +enjoying the evening air. At a hitching post outside the gate there +were three saddled horses of a breed not unlike the ‘Canadian.’ The +saddles would be uncomfortable to an American, cavalry officer, though +not so to a Camanche Indian. According to my recollection of our +equestrian savage I think his saddle is not much unlike the +Mongolians’.</p> + +<p>Beyond this establishment we entered a yard in front of a new and +well-built house. Near the door was the traveling carriage of the +governor of Igoon, who had arrived only an hour or two before. The +carriage was a two-wheeled affair, not long enough to permit one to +lie at full length nor high enough to sit bolt upright. It had no +springs, the frame resting fairly on the axles. The top was rounded +like that of a butcher’s cart and the sides were curtained with blue +cloth that had little windows or peep-holes. I looked behind the +curtain and saw that the sides and bottom were cushioned to diminish +the effect of jolting. Two or three small pillows, round and hard, +evidently served to fill vacancies and wedge the occupant in his +place.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg216-1.gif' id='lg216-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>MANJOUR TRAVELING CARRIAGE.</p></div> + +<p>The shafts were like those of a common dray, and the driver’s position +was on a sort of shelf within ten inches of the horse’s tail. There +was room for a postillion on the shelf with the driver, the two +sitting back to back and their legs hanging over the side. The +wheel-tires were slightly cogged as if made for use in a machine, and +altogether the vehicle did not impress me as a comfortable one. Being +without springs it gives the occupant the benefit of all jolting, and +as the Chinese roads are execrable, I imagine one might feel after a +hundred miles in such a conveyance very much as if emerging from an +encounter with a champion prize-fighter.</p> + +<p>Sometimes the Chinese officials set the wheels of their carts very far +aft so as to get a little spring from the long shafts. Even with this +improvement the carriage is uncomfortable, and it is no wonder that +the Chinese never travel when they can avoid it.</p> + +<p>Entering a hall that led to a larger apartment, we reached the +presence of the governor of Igoon. He was seated on a mat near the +edge of a wide divan, his legs crossed like a tailor’s at his work. He +was in a suit of light-colored silk, with a conical hat bearing a +crystal ball on the top. It is generally understood that the grade of +a Chinese official may be known by the ball he wears on his hat. Thus +there are red, blue, white, yellow, green, crystal, copper, brass, <i>et +cetera</i>, according to the rank of the wearer. These balls take the +place of the shoulder-strap and epaulettes of western civilization, +and it must be admitted that they occupy the most conspicuous position +one could select. As I am not versed in details of the orders of +Chinese rank I will not attempt to give the military and civil status +of my new acquaintance. I learned that he was a general in the army, +had displayed skill and bravery in subduing the rebellion, and been +personally decorated by the Emperor.</p> + +<p>He was enjoying his pipe and a cup of tea, resting the latter on a +little table at his side. He was an old man,—of how many years I dare +not try to guess,—with a thin gray beard on his short chin, and a +face that might have been worn by the Knight of the Sorrowful +Countenance. I was introduced as an American who had come to see +China, and especially the portion bordering on the Amoor. We shook +hands and I was motioned to a seat at his side on the edge of the +divan.</p> + +<p>Tea and cigars opened the way to a slow fire of conversation. I spoke +in French with Borasdine, who rendered my words in Russian to the +governor’s interpreter. The principal remarks were that we were +mutually enchanted to see each other, and that I was delighted at my +visit to Igoon and Sakhalin-Oula.</p> + +<p>Several officials entered and bowed low before the governor, shaking +their clenched hands at him during the obeisance. One wore a red and +another a yellow ball, the first being in a black uniform and the +second in a white one. The principal feature of each uniform was a +long coat reaching below the knees, with a cape like the capes of our +military cloaks. Both dresses were of silk, and the material was of +excellent quality.</p> + +<p>The floor of the room was of clay, beaten smooth and cleanly swept. +The furniture consisted of the divan before mentioned, with two or +three rolls of bedding upon it, a Chinese table, and two Chinese and +three Russian chairs. The walls were covered with various devices +produced from the oriental brain; and an American clock and a French +mirror showed how the Celestials have become demoralized by commerce +with outside barbarians. The odor from the kitchen filled the room, +and as we thought the governor might be waiting for his supper, we +bade him good evening and returned to the boat and the Russian shore.</p> + +<p>During my stay at Blagoveshchensk I was invited to assist at a visit +made by the governor of Igoon to Colonel Pedeshenk. The latter sent +his carriage at the appointed hour to bring the Chinese dignitary and +his chief of staff. A retinue of ten or twelve officers followed on +foot, and on entering the audience hall they remained standing near +the door. The greetings and hand-shakings were in the European style, +and after they were ended the Chinese governor took a seat and +received his pipe from his pipe-bearer. He wore a plain dress of grey +silk and a doublet or cape of blue with embroidery along the front. He +did not wear his decorations, the visit being unofficial.</p> + +<p>In addition to the ball on his hat he wore a plume or feather that +stood in a horizontal position. His chief of staff was the most +elaborately dressed man of the party, his robes being more gaily +decorated than the governor’s. The members of the staff wore mandarin +balls of different colors, and all had feathers in their hats. The +governor’s hair was carefully done up, and I suspect his queue was +lengthened with black silk.</p> + +<p>Conversation was carried on through the Colonel’s interpreter, and ran +upon various topics. General Bussy’s death was mentioned in terms of +regret, and then followed an interchange of compliments between the +two governors who met for the first time. After this the Chinese +governor spoke of my visit to Sakhalin-Oula, and said I was the first +American he ever met in his province.</p> + +<p>“How did I come from America,” he asked, “and how far had I traveled +to reach Blagoveshchensk?”</p> + +<p>The interpreter named the distance and said I came to the Amoor in a +ship connected with the telegraph service.</p> + +<p>“When would the telegraph be finished?”</p> + +<p>He was told that within two or three years they would probably be able +to send messages direct to America.</p> + +<p>Then he asked if the railway would not soon follow the telegraph. He +had never seen either, but understood perfectly their manner of +working. He expressed himself pleased at the progress of the telegraph +enterprise, but did not intimate that China desired anything of the +kind. The interview lasted about an hour, and ended with a +leave-taking after the European manner.</p> + +<p>There is much complaint among the Russians that the treaty of 1860 is +not carried out by the Chinese. It is stipulated that trade shall be +free along the entire boundary between the two empires, and that +merchants can enter either country at will. The Chinese merchants are +not free to leave their own territory and visit Russia, but are +subject to various annoyances at the hands of their own officials. I +was repeatedly informed at Blagoveshchensk that the restrictions upon +commerce wore very serious and in direct violation of the +stipulations. One gentleman told me:</p> + +<p>“Every Manjour trader that brings anything here pays a tax of twenty +to fifty per cent, for permission to cross the river. We pay now a +third more for what we purchase than when we first settled here. The +merchants complain of the restriction, and sometimes, though rarely, +manage to evade it. Occasionally a Manjour comes to me offering an +article twenty or thirty per cent, below his usual price, explaining +that he smuggled it and requesting me not to expose him.”</p> + +<p>I asked if the taxation was made by the Chinese government, and was +answered in the negative.</p> + +<p>“Thee police of Igoon and Sakhalin-Oula regulate the whole matter. It +is purely a black-mail system, and the merchant who refuses to pay +will be thrown into prison on some frivolous charge. The police master +of Igoon has a small salary, but has grown very wealthy in a few +years. The Russian and Chinese governors have considered the affair +several times, but accomplish nothing. On such occasions the Chinese +governor summons his police-master and asks him if there is any truth +in the charges of the corruption of his subordinates. Of course he +declares everything correct, and there the matter ends.”</p> + +<p>How history repeats itself! Compare this with the conduct of certain +Treasury officials along the Mississippi during our late war. The +cases were exactly parallel. The government scandalized, trade +restricted, and merchants plundered, to fill the pockets of rapacious +officers! I began to think the Mongol more like the Anglo-Saxon than +ethnologists believe, and found an additional argument for the unity +of the human race.</p> + +<p>If I knew the Emperor of China I should counsel him to open his +oblique eyes. If he does not he may find the conduct of the Igoon +police a serious affair for his dominions. Russia, like Oliver Twist, +desires more. When the opportunity comes she will quietly take +possession of Manjouria and hold both banks of the Amoor. If the +treaty of 1860 continues to be violated the Governor General of +Eastern Siberia will have an excellent excuse for taking the district +of Igoon and all it contains under his powerful protection.</p> + +<p>On the day I reached Blagoveshchensk I saw an emigrant camp near the +town. The emigrants had just landed from the rafts with which they +descended the Amoor. They came from Astrachan, near the mouth of the +Volga, more than five thousand miles away, and had been two years on +their travels. They came with wagons to the head waters of the Amoor, +and there built rafts, on which they loaded everything, including +wagons and teams, and floated to their destination. I did not find +their wagons as convenient as our own, though doubtless they are +better adapted to the road.</p> + +<p>The Russian wagon had a semi-circular body, as if a long hogshead were +divided lengthwise and the half of it mounted on wheels, with the open +part uppermost. There was a covering of coarse cloth over a light +framework, lower and less wide than our army wagons. Household goods +fill the wagons, and the emigrants walk for the most part during all +their land journey.</p> + +<p>I spent a few minutes at the camp near the town, and found the picture +much like what I saw years ago beyond the Mississippi. Men were busy +with their cattle and securing them for the night; one boy was +bringing water from the river, and another gathering fuel for the +fire; a young woman was preparing supper, and an older one endeavored, +under shelter of the wagon-cover, to put a crying child to sleep.</p> + +<p>Westward our star of empire takes its way. Russian emigration presses +eastward, and seeks the rising, as ours the setting sun.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_221'></a> +<img src="images/sm221-1.gif" id='sm221-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—TOWARDS THE SUN" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XIX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2></div> + + +<p>During my stay at Blagoveshchensk the governor invited me to assist at +a gazelle hunt.</p> + +<p>At nine o’clock on the day appointed we assembled at the house of the +chief of staff. I breakfasted before going there, but it was necessary +to discuss the coming hunt over a second breakfast. Six or eight +ladies were of the party, and the affair had the general appearance of +a picnic. The governor seated me in his carriage at the side of Madame +Pedeshenk, and we led the company to the field of expected slaughter.</p> + +<p>With four horses abreast,—two attached to a pole and two outside,—we +dashed over an excellent road leading back from the town. There were +three other carriages and two or three common wagons, in which the +occupants rode on bundles of hay. There was a little vehicle on two +wheels,—a sort of light gig with a seat for only one person,—driven +by a lady. Five or six officers were on horseback, and we had a +detachment of twenty mounted Cossacks to ‘beat the bush.’ Excluding +the Cossacks and drivers, there were about thirty persons in the +party. A mysterious wagon laden with boxes and kegs composed, the +baggage train. The governor explained that this wagon contained the +ammunition for the hunters. No gazelle could have looked upon those +kegs and boxes without trembling in his boots.</p> + +<p>A range of low hills six miles from town was the spot selected for the +hunt. There were nine armed men to be stationed across this range +within shooting distance of each other. The Cossacks were to make a +circuitous route and come upon the hills two or three miles away, +where, forming a long line and making much noise, they would advance +in our direction. Any game that happened in the way would be driven to +us. We were to stand our ground with firmness and shoot any gazelle +that attacked us. I determined to fight it out on that line.</p> + +<p>The road from Blagoveshchensk led over a birch-covered plain to the +bank of the Zeya, four miles away. We passed on the right a small +mill, which was to be replaced in the following year by a steam +flouring establishment, the first on the Amoor. On reaching the Zeya I +found a village named Astrachanka, in honor of Astrachan at the mouth +of the Volga. The settlers had lived there three or four years, and +were succeeding well in agriculture. They were of the class known as +German Mennonites, who settled on the steppes of Southern Russia at +the commencement of the present century. They are members of the +Lutheran church, and famed for their industry and their care in +managing their flocks and fields. The governor praised them warmly, +and expressed the kindest hopes for their prosperity.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg223-1.gif' id='lg223-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE AMMUNITION WAGON.</p></div> + +<p>We left the road near the village and passed through a field in the +direction of the hunting ground. Two men were at work with a yoke of +oxen and a plough, whose beam rested on the axle of a pair of wheels. +The yoke was like the one in use everywhere along the Amoor, and was +made of two pieces of thick plank, one above and the other below the +animals’ necks, with wooden pins to join them and bear the strain. The +plough was quite primitive and did not stir the soil like an American +or English plough. At the hunting ground we alighted and took our +stations. The governor stood under a small oak, and the ladies rested +on the grass near him. I went to the next post up the hollow, and the +other hunters completed the line. Dr. Snider went to aid me in taking</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span class='i8'>“a dear gazelle,<br /></span> +<span>To glad me with its soft black eye.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>He was armed with a cigar, while I had a double-barreled gun, loaded +at (not to) the muzzle.</p> + +<p>The Cossacks went to rouse the game, but their first drive resulted in +nothing beyond a prodigious noise. When they started for the second +drive I followed the doctor in a temporary visit to the ladies. During +this absence from duty a large gazelle passed within ten steps of my +station. I ran toward my post, but was not as nimble as the frightened +deer.</p> + +<p>“<i>Tirez</i>” commanded the governor.</p> + +<p>“Fire,” shouted the doctor.</p> + +<p>And I obeyed the double injunction. The distance was great and the +animal not stationary. I fired, and the governor fired, but the only +effect was to quicken the speed of our game. I never knew a gazelle to +run faster. Three weeks later I saw a beast greatly resembling him +running on a meadow a thousand miles from Blagoveshchensk. Whether it +was the same or another I will not attempt to say.</p> + +<p>A few minutes after this failure the horn of the hunter was heard on +the hill, and two gazelles passed the line, but no game was secured. +The governor proposed a change of base, and led us where the +mysterious wagon had halted. The ‘ammunition’ was revealed. There were +carpets and cloths on the grass, plates, knives and forks, edibles in +variety, wine, ale, and other liquids, and the samovar steaming +merrily at our side. I think we acquitted ourselves better at this +part of the hunt than at any other. The picnic did not differ much +from an American one, the most noticeable feature being the +substantial character of solids and liquids. Most of us sat on the +grass and stumps, the number of camp-stools not exceeding half a +dozen.</p> + +<p>Finishing the lunch we took a new hunting spot and managed to kill a +gazelle and a large hare. A fourth drive brought no game, and we +returned to enjoy another lunch and drink a Russian beverage called +‘jonca.’ In its preparation a pound or two of loaf sugar in a single +lump is fixed on a wire frame above a copper pan. A bottle of cognac +is poured over the sugar and set on fire. The sugar melts, and when +the fire is almost extinguished a bottle of claret and one of +champagne are added. The compound is taken hot, and has a sweet and +very smooth taste. The Russians are fond of producing this beverage +when they have foreign guests, and if taken freely it has a weakening +tendency. The captain of the Variag told me he had placed several +British officers under his table by employing this article, and there +was a rumor that the Fox embassy to St. Petersburg was quite severely +laid out by means of ‘jonca.’</p> + +<p>The lunch finished we discharged our guns and returned to town at a +rapid pace. While descending the bank of a brook our horses turned +suddenly and nearly overset the carriage. The doctor and I jumped out +to lighten the lower side, and were just in season to keep the wheels +on the ground. Madame Pedeshenk followed into the arms of the strong +doctor, but the governor, true to the martial instinct, remained in +his place and gave instructions to the driver. We did not re-enter the +carriage until it was across the brook; the horses were exercised +rather violently during the remainder of the journey.</p> + +<p>I think the gazelle we killed was identical with the antelope of our +western plains. He had a skin of the same color and a white tail, that +retreating flag-of-truce so familiar to our overland emigrants. His +feet, head, and body were shaped like the antelope’s, and his eye had +that liquid tenderness so often observed in the agile rover near the +foot of the Rocky Mountains. Gazelles abound through the Amoor valley +to within a hundred miles of the sea-coast. Many are killed every +autumn and winter in the valley of the Zeya and along the middle +Amoor. The flesh is eaten and the skin used for winter coats and +similar articles.</p> + +<p>The commerce of Blagoveshchensk is in the hands of half a dozen +merchants, one French, one German, and the rest Russian. The Amoor +company before its affairs were ended kept there one of its principal +stores, which was bought, with stock and good will, by the company’s +clerk. The wants of the officers, soldiers, and civilians in the town +and its vicinity are sufficient to create a good local trade. Prices +are high, nearly double those of Nicolayevsk, and the stocks of goods +on hand are neither large nor well selected. Officers complained to me +of combinations among the merchants to maintain prices at an +exorbitant scale.</p> + +<p>I staid four days at Blagoveshchensk, and as the season was growing +late was quite anxious to depart. The days were charming, +corresponding to our Indian Summer, and the nights cool and frosty. +The passenger on our steamer from Igoon said ice would be running in +the river in twenty-five days unless the season should be unusually +mild. Russians and Chinese were preparing for cold weather, and I +wished to do the same farther westward. Borasdine contemplated a land +journey in case we were delayed more than five days. The Korsackoff +was the only steamer to ascend the river, and she was waiting for the +Constantine to bring her a barge. On the evening of the 5th October +the governor informed me the Korsackoff would start on the next day, +barge or no barge. This was cheering, and I celebrated the occasion by +boiling myself in a Russian bath.</p> + +<p>I look upon the bath as one of the blessings of Russia. At the end of +a journey, when one is sore and stiff in the joints, it is an +effectual medicine. After it the patient sleeps soundly, and rises in +the morning thoroughly invigorated. Too much bathing deadens the +complexion and enfeebles the body, but a judicious amount is +beneficial. It is the Russian custom, not always observed, to bathe +once a week. The injury from the bath is in consequence of too high +temperature of steam and water, causing a severe shock to the system. +Taken properly the bath has no bad effects, and will cure rheumatism, +some forms of neuralgia, and several other acute diseases.</p> + +<p>The bath-house is a building of two, and generally three, rooms. In +the outer room you undress, and your <i>chelavek</i>, or servant, does the +same. If there is but another room you are led directly into it, and +find a hot fire in a large stove. There is a cauldron of hot water and +a barrel of cold water close at hand. The tools of the operator are a +bucket, two or three basins, a bar of soap, a switch of birch boughs, +and a bunch of matting. If there are three apartments the second is +only an ante-room, not very warm and calculated to prepare you for the +last and hottest of all.</p> + +<p>The chelavek begins by throwing a bucket of warm water over you. He +follows this with another, and then a third, fourth, and fifth, each a +little warmer than its predecessor. On one side of the room is a +series of benches like a terrace or flight of large steps. You are +placed horizontally on a bench, and with warm water, soap, and bunch +of matting the servant scrubs you from head to foot with a +manipulation more thorough than gentle. The temperature of the room is +usually about 110° Fahrenheit, but it may be more or less. It induces +vigorous perspiration, and sets the blood glowing and tingling, but it +never melts the flesh nor breaks the smallest blood vessel. The +finishing touch is to ascend the platform near the ceiling and allow +the servant to throw water upon hot stones from the furnace. There is +always a cloud of steam filling the room and making objects +indistinct. You easily become accustomed to the ordinary heat, but +when water is dropped upon the stones there is a rush of blistering +steam. It catches you on the platform and you think how unfortunate is +a lobster when he goes to pot and exchanges his green for scarlet.</p> + +<p>I declined this <i>coup de grace</i> after a single experience. To my view +it is the objectionable feature of the Russian bath. I was always +content after that to retire before the last course, and only went +about half way up the terrace. The birchen switch is to whip the +patient during the washing process, but is not applied with unpleasant +force. To finish the bath you are drenched with several buckets of +water descending from hot to cold, but not, as some declare, +terminating with ice water. This little fiction is to amuse the +credulous, and would be ‘important if true.’ Men have sometimes rushed +from the bath into a snow bank, but the occurrence is unusual. +Sometimes the peasants leave the bath for a swim in the river, but +they only do so in mild weather. In all the cities there are public +bath rooms, where men are steamed, polished, and washed in large +numbers. In bathing the Russians are more gregarious than English or +Americans. A Russian would think no more of bathing with several +others than of dining at a hotel table. Nearly every private house has +its bath room, and its frequent use can hardly fail to be noticed by +travelers.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg228-1.gif' id='lg228-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FINISHING TOUCH.</p></div> + +<p>On the morning of the 6th the Constantine arrived, having left the +Korsackoff’s barge hard aground below Igoon. So we were to start +unencumbered. I took my baggage to the Korsackoff, and was obliged to +traverse two barges before I reached the boat. Twelve o’clock was the +hour appointed for our departure, and at eleven the fires were burning +in the furnaces. A hundred men were transferring freight from the +Constantine to the Korsackoff, and made a busy scene. Four men +carrying a box of muskets ran against me on a narrow plank, and had +not my good friend the doctor seized me I should have plunged headlong +into the river. The hey-day in my blood was tame; I had no desire to +fall into <i>l’Amour</i> at that season.</p> + +<p>At eleven there came an invitation to lunch with the governor at two. +“How is this?” I said to the doctor; “start at twelve and lunch here +two hours later!” Smiling the doctor replied:</p> + +<p>“I see you have not yet learned our customs. The governor is the +autocrat, and though the captain positively declares he will start at +noon you need not be uneasy. He will not go till you are on board, and +very likely you will meet him at lunch.”</p> + +<p>At two o’clock I was at the governor’s, where I found the anxious +captain. When our lunch was finished Madame Pedeshenk gave me some +wild grapes of native production. They were about the size of peas, +and quite acid in taste. With cultivation they might be larger and +better flavored, just as many of our American grapes have improved in +the past twenty years. Some of the hardier grapes might be +successfully grown on the middle Amoor, but the cold is too long and +severe for tender vines. Attached to his dwelling the governor has a +hot-house that forms a pleasant retreat in winter. He hopes to +introduce vines and raise hot-house grapes in Siberia within a few +years.</p> + +<p>I walked to the boat with Doctor and Madame Snider, our promenade +being enlivened by a runaway horse that came near dragging a cart over +us. The governor and his lady were there, with nearly all the +officers, and after saying adieu I stepped on board, and we left the +pier. We waved kerchiefs again and again as long as waves could be +seen.</p> + +<p>There was a cabin on the Korsackoff about eight feet square, with four +small rooms opening out of it. Borasdine and I had two of these. My +apartment had two bunks and no bedding, but the deficiency was atoned +for by a large number of hungry and industrious fleas. Of my blankets +and pillow I made my own bed, and slept in it as on the Ingodah. My +only chair was a camp stool I carried from San Francisco with the +design of giving it away on reaching the end of my water travel.</p> + +<p>Going on board the steamer I met a drunken priest endeavoring to walk +to the pier, and in the cabin I found another lying on a sofa, and, as +I supposed, very ill. Borasdine observed my look of compassion, and +indicated by signs the cause of the malady. The priest going ashore +had been saying farewell to the one on board, and their partings were +such as press the life from out young hearts and bottles. Our holy +passenger did not feel himself again until the next day.</p> + +<p>There are many good men among the priests of the Eastern church in +Siberia, but it must also be admitted there are many bad ones. In a +country where the clergy wields as great power as in Russia the +authorities should take care that the representatives of the church +set a good example. The intemperance so prevalent among the peasantry +is partly due to the debaucheries of the priesthood. Where the people +follow their religious leaders with blind faith and obey their +commands in all the forms of worship, are they not in danger of +following the example of drunkenness? Russian officers frequently +spoke of the condition of the church in Eastern Siberia, and declared +with emphasis that it needed reformation. “Our priests,” said one, +“have carried our religion wherever our armies have carried conquest, +and their efforts to advance Christianity deserve all praise. But +abuses exist and have grown up, and the whole system needs to be +arranged anew.”</p> + +<p>We had much freight on board, consisting chiefly of muskets for the +province of the Trans-Baikal. There were many passengers that lived +literally on deck. They were aft of the engines and above our cabin. +On deck we had the forward part of the boat as on the Ingodah. The +deck passengers were soldiers, and Cossacks in their long grey coats, +and peasants of all ages in garments of sheepskin. There were women +with infants, and women without infants, the former being the more +numerous. They were on deck day and night, unless when opportunity +offered to go on shore. They did their cooking at the galley or at a +stove near the stern of the boat. They never made any noise or +disturbance, beyond the usual confusion where many persons are +confined in a small space.</p> + +<p>There were three horses tied just over my cabin with only a single +plank between their heels and my head. Nearly every night their horse +polkas and galops disturbed my sleep. Sometimes early in the morning, +when the frost was biting, they would have kicking matches of twenty +or thirty minutes, conducted with the greatest vigor. The temporary +stable was close to the cabin skylight, so that we had the odors of a +barn-yard without extra charge. This would have been objectionable +under other circumstances, but the cabin was so dirty that one could +not be fastidious about trifles.</p> + +<p>The captain had a neat cabin of his own on the upper deck, and did not +trouble himself much about the quarters of his passengers, as the +regulations do not require him to look after their welfare. He was a +careful commander and prompt in discharging his duties. By law +steamboat captains cannot carry their wives on board. This officer had +a little arrangement by which he was able to keep the word of promise +to the ear and break it to the hope.</p> + +<p>We were short of fuel at starting, and barely escaped trouble in +consequence. The first pile visible contained only a cord or two; we +took this and several posts that had been fixed in the ground to mark +the locality. When this supply was burned we cut up our landing planks +and all the spare bits of wood we could find. A court of inquiry was +held over the horse-troughs, but they were considered too much +water-soaked for our purpose. As a last resort I had a pound of +candles and a flask of brandy, but we happily reached a wood-station +without using my light baggage.</p> + +<p>The Korsackoff was an iron boat of a hundred horse power, with hull +and engines of English make. Her cabins were very small and as dirty +as diminutive. There was no cabin steward, and I sincerely believe +there had never been one. We were warned of this before leaving +Blagoveshchensk, and by way of precaution purchased enough bread, +pickles, cheese, mustard, preserves, candles, etc., to stock a modest +grocery. We bought eggs at the landings, and arranged for the samovar +every morning. We engaged a Cossack passenger as our servant for the +voyage, and when we wished our eggs boiled we sent him with them to +the cook. Of course we had an arrangement with the latter functionary. +Our next move was to make terms with the captain’s steward for a +dinner at the hour when he fed his chief. Our negotiations required +much diplomacy, but our existence depended upon it, and what will not +man accomplish when he wants bread and meat?</p> + +<p>We spread our table in one of our rooms. For breakfast we took tea and +boiled eggs, and for dinner we had cabbage soup, roast beef or fowl, +and cutlets. The cook succeeded very well, and as our appetites were +pretty sharp we voted the dinners a success. We used our own bread, +tea, pickles, and preserves, employing the latter as a concluding +dish. Our Cossack was not very skillful at housework, and made many +blunders in serving. Frequently he brought the soup tureen before +arranging the table, and it took him some time to learn the +disadvantage of this practice.</p> + +<p>Leaving Blagoveshchensk the country continued level near the river, +but the mountains gradually approached it and on the south bank they +came to the water fifteen or twenty miles above Sakhalin-Oula. On the +north the plain was wider, but it terminated about forty miles above +Blagoveshchensk,—a series of low hills taking its place. The first +day we ran twenty-five or thirty versts before sunset. The river was +less than a mile wide, and the volume of water sensibly diminished +above the Zeya. As the hills approached the river they assumed the +form of bluffs or headlands, with plateaus extending back from their +summits. The scenery reminded me of Lake Pepin and the region just +above it. On the northern shore, between these bluffs and the river, +there was an occasional strip of meadow that afforded clinging room to +a Russian village. At two or three settlements there was an abundance +of hay and grain in stacks, and droves of well fed cattle, that +indicated the favorable character of the country.</p> + +<p>At most villages along the Amoor I found the crow and magpie abundant +and very tame. At Blagoveshchensk several of these birds amused me in +sharing the dinner of some hogs to the great disgust of the latter. +When the meal was finished they lighted on the backs of the hogs and +would not dismount until the latter rolled in the dirt. No one appears +to think them worth shooting, and I presume they do no damage.</p> + +<p>One day walking on shore I saw a flock of pigeons, and returned to the +boat for Borasdine’s gun. As I took it I remarked that I would shoot a +few pigeons for dinner.</p> + +<p>“Never think of it,” said my friend.</p> + +<p>“And why?”</p> + +<p>“Because you will make the peasants your enemies. The news would +spread that you had killed a pigeon, and every peasant would dislike +you.”</p> + +<p>“For what reason?”</p> + +<p>“The pigeon or dove is held sacred throughout Russia. He is the living +symbol of the Holy Spirit in the faith of the Eastern church, and he +brought the olive branch to The Ark when the flood had ceased. No +Russian would harm one of these birds, and for you to do so would show +disrespect to the religion of the country.”</p> + +<p>I went on shore again, but without a gun.</p> + +<p>Every day we saw rafts moving with the stream or tied along the shore. +They were of logs cut on the upper Amoor, and firmly fastened with +poles and withes. An emigrant piles his wagon and household goods on a +raft, and makes a pen at one side to hold his cattle. Two or three +families, with as many wagons and a dozen or twenty animals, were +frequently on one raft. A pile of earth was the fire place, and there +was generally a tent or shelter of some kind. Cattle were fed with +hay carried on board, or were turned ashore at night to graze.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg234-1.gif' id='lg234-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>EMIGRANTS ON THE AMOOR.</p></div> + +<p>Some rafts were entirely laden with cattle on their way to market or +for government use at Nicolayevsk. This is the most economical mode of +transportation, as the cattle feed themselves on shore at night, and +the rafts float with the current by day. A great deal of heavy freight +has been carried down the Amoor in this way, and losses are of rare +occurrence. The system is quite analogous to the flat-boat navigation +of the Mississippi before steamboats were established. We met a few +Russian boats floating or propelled by oars, one of them having a crew +of six Cossacks and making all haste in descending. We supposed it +contained the mail due at Blagoveshchensk when we left. The government +has not enough steamers to perform its service regularly, and +frequently uses row boats. The last mail at Blagoveshchensk before my +arrival came in a rowboat in fifteen days from Stratensk.</p> + +<p>Ascending the river we made slow progress even without a barge. Our +machinery was out of order and we only carried half steam. We ran only +by day, and unfortunately the nights had a majority of the time. We +frequently took wood in the middle of the day, and on such occasions +lost from one to three hours. Our average progress was about sixty +miles a day. I could not help contrasting this with journeys I have +made on the Mississippi at the rate of two hundred miles in +twenty-four hours. A government boat has no occasion to hurry like a +private one, and the pilot’s imperfect knowledge of the Amoor operates +against rapidity. In time I presume the Siberian boats will increase +their speed.</p> + +<p>The second day from Blagoveshchensk we were where the Amoor flows +twenty-five versts around a peninsula only one verst wide. Just above +this, at the village of Korsackoff, was the foot of another bend of +twenty-eight versts with a width of three. Borasdine and I proposed +walking and hunting across the last neck of land, but the lateness of +the hour forbade the excursion, as we did not wish to pass the night +on shore, and it was doubtful if the boat could double the point +before dark. We should have crossed the first peninsula had it not +been in Chinese territory. To prevent possible intrusion the +Celestials have a guard-house at the bend.</p> + +<p>At the guard-house we could see half a dozen soldiers with matchlocks +and lances. There was a low house fifteen or twenty feet square and +daubed with mud according to the Chinese custom. There was a quantity +of rubbish on the ground, and a couple of horses were standing ready +saddled near it. Fifty feet from the house was a building like a +sentry-box, with two flag-staffs before it; it was the temple where +the soldiers worshipped according to the ceremonies of their faith. I +have been much with the army in my own country, but never saw a +military post of two buildings where one structure was a chapel.</p> + +<p>Above the village of Kazakavitch, at the upper extremity of the bend, +there was some picturesque scenery. On one side there were precipitous +cliffs two or three hundred feet high, and on the other a meadow or +plateau with hills in the background. The villages on this part of the +river are generally built twenty or thirty feet above high water mark. +They have the same military precision that is observed below the Zeya, +and each has a bath house set in the bank. Frequently we found these +bath houses in operation, and on one occasion two boys came out clad +in the elegant costume of the Greek Slave, without her fetters. They +gazed at the boat with perfect <i>sang froid</i>, the thermometer being +just above freezing point. The scene reminded me of the careless +manners of the natives at Panama.</p> + +<p>Opposite Komarskoi the cliffs on the Chinese shore are perpendicular, +and continue so for several miles. At their base there is a strong +current, where we met a raft descending nearly five miles an hour. In +going against the stream our pilots did not seek the edge of the river +like their brethren of the Mississippi, but faced the current in the +center. Possibly they thought a middle course the safest, and +remembered the fate of the celebrated youth who took a short route +when he drove the sun.</p> + +<p>Two miles above the settlement is Cape Komara, a perpendicular or +slightly overhanging rock of dark granite three hundred feet high. +Nothing but a worm or an insect could climb its face, and a fall from +its top into the river would not be desirable. The Russians have +erected a large cross upon the summit, visible for some distance up +and down the river. Above this rock, which appears like a sentinel, +the valley is wider and the stream flows among many islands.</p> + +<p>We saw just below this rock a Manjour boat tied to the shore, the crew +breakfasting near a fire and the captain smoking in apparent unconcern +at a little distance. On the opposite bank there was a Chinese +custom-house and military station. It had the same kind of house and +temple and the same number of men and horses as the post farther down. +Had it possessed a pile of rubbish and a barking dog the similarity +would have been complete.</p> + +<p>There is abundance of water in the Amoor except for drinking purposes. +I was obliged to adopt the plan of towing a bottle out of the cabin +window till it filled. The deck passengers used to look with wonder on +my foreign invention, and doubtless supposed I was experimenting for +scientific purposes. I have heard of a captain on the Ohio who forbade +water to his passengers on account of the low stage of the river. +Possibly the Russian captains are fearful that too much use of water +may affect navigation in future years.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2></div> + + +<p>There is a sameness and yet a variety in the scenery of the Amoor two +or three hundred miles above Komarskoi. The sameness is in the general +outlines which can be described; the variety is in the many little +details of distance, shadow, and coloring, which no pen can picture. +In the general features there are cliffs, hills, ravines, islands, and +occasional meadows, with forests of birch, pine, larch, and willow. +The meadows are not abundant, and the attractions to settlers +generally small. The hills are rugged and, though well timbered, not +adapted to agriculture. The pine forests are dark and gloomy, and the +leafless birches make the distant hills appear as if thinly snow-clad. +The willows are generally upon the islands, and grow with great +luxuriance. The large meadows are occupied by Russian settlers.</p> + +<p>Many little streams enter the Amoor on both sides, but chiefly from +the north. There is a famous cliff called Sa-ga-yan, where the river +has washed and undermined the high bank so that portions fall away +every few years. The current strikes this hill with great force, and +where it is reflected the water is broken like the rapids above +Niagara. It is a dangerous spot for small boats, and very difficult +for them to ascend. When the expedition of 1854 descended the Amoor +several barges were drawn into an eddy at this cliff and nearly +swamped. Captain Fulyelm and Mr. Collins, in 1857, were in danger and +trouble, especially where the current rebounds from the shore.</p> + +<p>When our steamer struck this rapid it required all the strength of our +engines to carry us through. I desired to examine the shore, but had +no opportunity. Mr. Collins found the bank composed of amygdaloid +sand, decomposed rock and sandstone, with many traces of iron. On the +beach were chalcedony, cornelian, and agate. Two veins of coal have +been traced in the cliff, and it is thought a large deposit exists +there. The natives have a story that the cliff smokes whenever a human +being approaches it, but I saw no indications of smoke as I passed. +They consider it the abode of evil spirits, and hold it in great dread.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg238-1.gif' id='lg238-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>SA-GA-YAN CLIFF.</p></div> + +<p>The Russians told me that a few wreaths of smoke were visible in +summer, caused probably by the decomposition of several coal seams on +the upper side of the mountain.</p> + +<p>Up to the present time no coal has been mined along the Amoor, though +enough is known to exist. The cheapness and abundance of wood will +render coal of little importance for many years to come. Nicolayevsk +is supplied with coal from Sakhalin Island, where it is abundant and +easily worked. Iron ore has been discovered on the upper Amoor and in +the Buryea Mountains. Captain Anossoff proposes to erect a smelting +establishment at Blagoveshchensk, supplying it with iron ore from the +Buryea region and with coal from the Zeya. Copper and silver exist in +several localities, but the veins have not been thoroughly examined. +The mountains are like those in the Nerchinsk district that have +yielded so richly in precious metals.</p> + +<p>Captain Anossoff is the brother of my companion across the Pacific, +and has seen ten years service in Eastern Siberia. Most of that time +he has passed on the Amoor and its tributary streams. In many places +he found rich deposits of gold, the last and best being on the Oldoi +river, about a hundred miles north of Albazin. A ton of earth yielded +six hundred dollars worth of gold. I saw the specimens which the +captain took out in person. The gold was like the best gulch or scale +gold in California, with nuggets up to four or five ounces in weight.</p> + +<p>Gold has been found in other localities. On several tributaries of the +Ousuree the Chinese have conducted washings for many years. The +Russian settlers near Posyet find gold in the streams flowing into the +sea. An engineer officer assured me the washings in that region could +be made profitable.</p> + +<p>The government has recently opened the Amoor and its tributaries to +private enterprise and invited its citizens to search for gold where +they please. This is a concession in the right way, and partially +abandons the claim hitherto enforced that all mines belong to the +Imperial family. Some of the surveys of Captain Anossoff have been for +private parties at St. Petersburg, and the development of the mineral +resources of the Amoor is confidently expected in a few years. At +present the lack of laborers and machinery is a great drawback, but as +the country grows older the mining facilities will increase. It is not +impossible that a gold fever will sometime arise on the Amoor and +extend to America.</p> + +<p>Much of the country I saw along the Amoor resembles the gold-bearing +regions on the Pacific coast. While we were taking wood at a village +above Sa-ga-yan I walked on shore and stopped at a little brook +flowing from the hills. Carelessly digging with a stick in the bottom +of this brook I brought up some black sand, which I washed on a piece +of bark. The washing left two or three shining particles that had +every appearance of gold. I wrapped them in a leaf to carry on board +the steamer, but as I afterward lost envelope and contents, the value +of my discovery is to this day unknown.</p> + +<p>The original inhabitants along this part of the Amoor are wandering +Tungusians, in no great number and with little wealth. We saw their +huts on both banks, principally the southern one. At a Russian village +where we stopped there was a Managre hut or yourt of light poles +covered with birch bark. The covering was wound around the framework +in horizontal strips that overlapped at the edges like shingles on a +house-roof. Entering the hut I found a varied assortment of deer +skins, cooking and other utensils, dogs, dirt, and children. I gave a +small coin to one of the latter, and was immediately surrounded by +others who wished to be remembered. The mother of the infants sent one +of them to me with a freshly killed goose, which I declined accepting.</p> + +<p>The head of the establishment examined my watch attentively, but I +think his curiosity was simulated, as he must have seen marry watches +among the Russians. Not to be outdone in curiosity, I admired the +trappings attached to his belt. These were a knife, a pipe, pouches +for bullets, tinder, powder, tobacco, and flints, a pointed iron for +cleaning a pipe, and two or three articles whose use I could not +ascertain. His dress was a deerskin frock and leggings, and his cap of +Chinese felt cloth was in several thicknesses and fitted close to his +head.</p> + +<p>Outside the hut Borasdine gave the man a cigar, but the gift was not +appreciated. The native preferred tobacco and was better satisfied +when I gave him enough to fill his pipe. The Managres smoke the +Manjourian tobacco, which is raised in large quantities along the +middle Amoor and the Songaree. It is much like Connecticut leaf, but +has a more pungent flavor, and lacks the delicacy of Havana tobacco. +Men, women, and children are alike addicted to its use.</p> + +<p>Our new acquaintance was a hunter, and allowed us, though with +hesitation, to look at his rifle. It had a flint lock of curious +construction, the hammer being drawn back to a horizontal position and +held in place by a notched piece of bone. The breech-pin was gone, and +a piece of stone fixed in the stock filled its place. The breech of +the stock was but little larger than the other part, and seemed very +awkwardly contrived. A forked stick is carried to form a rest, that +ensures the accuracy of aim. Powder and lead are so expensive that +great economy is shown in their use. I was told these natives were +excellent marksmen, and rarely missed a shot. When within proper +distance of their game they place their supporting sticks very quickly +and with such caution as to make no noise.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm241-1.gif' id='sm241-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RIFLE SHOOTING.</p></div> + +<p>One intoxicated aboriginal stood in the group of Cossacks on the bank +and appeared quarrelsome, but found the Russians too good-natured for +his purpose. A light shower scattered the crowd and left the inebriate +addressing a horse and a wood-pile.</p> + +<p>On the 11th of October the weather was like summer, the air still and +clear and my thermometer standing at 71 degrees. During the night I +found it necessary to take an extra blanket, and at noon of the 12th +the thermometer was at 45°, with a cloudy sky and a breeze from the +northeast. This change of twenty-six degrees was too much for comfort, +but of little consequence compared to my subsequent experience. +Instances have been known of a change of seventy degrees in twelve +hours from a sudden shifting of the wind. On the morning of the 13th +we had a light fall of snow, with the air at freezing point and the +water at 40°. + +<a name='FNanchor_D_4'></a> +<a href='#Footnote_D_4'><sup>[D]</sup></a></p> + +<p><a name='Footnote_D_4'></a> +<a href='#FNanchor_D_4'>[D]</a></p> + +<div class='note'><p> I here enter a protest against the Fahrenheit +thermometer, and think all who have used it to any extent will join me +in preferring the Centigrade or Reaumer scales. Centigrade has the +freezing point at zero and the boiling point at 100°. Reaumer freezes +at zero and boils at 80°. Fahrenheit very clumsily freezes at 32° and +boils at 212°. The difference in the graduation of the scale is of +much less consequence than the awkwardness of beginning the reading at +32°. The Russians use Reaumer’s method, and I always envied them their +convenience of saying ‘there are so many degrees of cold,’ or ‘so many +of heat,’ while I was forced to count from 32° to use my national +scale.</p></div> + +<p>We passed a rock projecting far into the river, with precipitous sides +and a sharp summit visible for some distance along the Amoor. Below it +is a small harbor, where the Russian steamer Mala Nadeshda (Little +Hope) passed the winter of 1855. She was on her way to Stratensk, +carrying Admiral Puchachin on his return from a mission to Japan. +Caught by ice the Nadeshda wintered under shelter of this rock, while +the Admiral became a horse marine and mounted a saddle for a ride of +four hundred miles. Since that time the rock has borne the name of the +boat it protected.</p> + +<p>In most of the villages there are schools for educating the boys of +the Cossacks and peasants. Some pupils are admitted free, while from +others a small fee is required. Occasionally I saw boys flocking to +the schools at sound of the master’s bell, or coming out at recess or +dismissal. I had no opportunity to inspect one of these +establishments, but presume my description of the one at Mihalofski +will answer for all. The youths were as noisy as school-boys +everywhere, and when out of restraint indulged in the same hilarity as +if born on the banks of the Hudson or the Thames.</p> + +<p>At noon on the 14th we stopped at Albazin to leave passengers and take +wood. It was Sunday, and the population appeared in its best clothing, +a few of the women sporting crinoline, and all wearing their best +calicoes. Among the men there were Cossacks and soldiers in their grey +coats or in plain cloth and sheepskin. I saw a few Yakuts with the +narrow eyes of the Tunguze and their clothing of deerskin.</p> + +<p>A few Orochons stood apart from the Russians, but not less observant +of the boat and those on board. Outside the village were three or four +conical yourts belonging to the aboriginals. It is said this people +formerly lived in the province of Yakutsk, whence they emigrated to +the Amoor in 1825. One of their chiefs has a hunting knife with the +initials of the Empress Catherine. It was presented to an ancestor of +the present owner.</p> + +<p>Albazin is finely situated on a plateau fifty feet high and extending +some distance back to the mountains. Opposite is a small river +abounding in fish, and in front an island several thousand acres in +extent and very fertile. Though less than seven years old, Albazin had +already begun to sell grain for transportation to Nerchinsk. A steamer +laden with grain left for Stratensk three days before our arrival.</p> + +<p>Albazin is of historical interest to the Russians. In the year 1669 a +Polish adventurer named Chernigofsky built a fort at Albazin. That his +men might not be without the comforts of religion he brought a priest, +who founded a church at the new settlement. It is related that when +organizing his expedition he forcibly seized this priest and kept him +under guard during the journey to the Amoor. The Chinese twice +besieged Albazin, once with eighteen thousand men, and afterward with +nearly double that number. The Russians resisted a long time, and were +only driven from the Amoor by the famous treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689.</p> + +<p>When I landed at Albazin, Captain Porotof, superintendent of the +Russian settlements between that point and Komarskoi, guided me +through the ruins. The present village of Albazin is inside the line +of Chinese works, and the church occupies the interior of the old +fort. All the lines of intrenchment and siege can be easily seen, the +fort being distinctly visible from the river. Its walls are about ten +feet high, and the ditch is partially filled from the washing of earth +during the many years since the evacuation. A drain that carries water +from the church has cut a hole through the embankment. In it I could +see the traces of the trees and brushwood used in making the fort.</p> + +<p>In the fort and around it cannon shot, bullets, arrow heads, and +pieces of pottery are frequently found. A few years ago a magazine of +rye was discovered, the grains being perfect and little injured by +time. Captain Porotof gave me two Chinese cannon shot recently found +there and greatly roughened on the surface by the action of rust. The +position and arrangement of their batteries and lines of +circumvallation show that the Chinese were skilled in the art of war.</p> + +<p>Albazin was valuable to the early adventurers on account of the fine +sables taken in its vicinity. It is important now for the same reason. +The Albazin sable is the best on the Amoor; that of the Buryea +mountains is next, and that from Blagoveshchensk is third in grade. At +several places I saw these furs, but found none of them equaling the +furs of Kamchatka.</p> + +<p>Some interesting stories about the siege of Albazin are told by the +Russians. While the siege was progressing and the garrison was greatly +distressed for want of food, Chernigofsky sent a pie weighing forty or +fifty pounds to the Chinese commander to convince him that the fort +was abundantly supplied. The latter was so delighted with the gift +that he sent back for more, but his request was unheeded. He probably +saw through the little game they were attempting to play on him and +determined to beat them at it. History does not say whether the pie +was pork, mutton, or anything else. Possibly the curs of Albazin may +have entered into its composition.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_244'></a> +<img src="images/sm244-1.gif" id='sm244-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—GAME" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXI.</h2></div> + + +<p>Above Albazin the Amoor steadily narrows; the hills are more rugged; +the trees less luxuriant; the meadows fewer, and the islands less +extensive. On the morning of the 15th my thermometer was at +16°, and +the trees on the shore were white with frost. The deck passengers +shivered around the engines and endeavored to extract heat from them. +The cabin passengers, excepting myself, were wrapped in their fur +coats as if it were midwinter. I walked about in my ordinary clothing, +finding the air bracing but not uncomfortable. I could not understand +how the Russians felt the cold when it did not affect me, and was a +little proud of my insensibility to frost. Conceit generally comes of +ignorance, and as I learned, wisdom I lost my vanity about resisting +cold.</p> + +<p>Nearly every day on the Korsackoff I was puzzled at finding laurel +leaves in the soup, and did not understand it till I saw a barrel of +beef opened. There were lots of laurel leaves packed with the meat, +and I learned that they assist the preservative qualities of the salt +and give an agreeable flavor. I can speak in favor of the latter +theory, but know nothing about the former. The ancient Romans wore +laurel crowns, but they did not prevent the decline and fall of their +empire. Possibly the Russians may have better success in saving their +beef by the use of the laurel.</p> + +<p>During a fog on the river we grazed a rock, slid upon a sandbar, and +then anchored, as we should have done at first. When in motion we +employed all possible time, and, considering the state of our engines, +made very good progress. Borasdine learned from our Cossack the +explanation of this haste.</p> + +<p>“The pilots, firemen, and nearly all the crew,” said the Cossack, +“have their wives at Stratensk, and are anxious to winter with them. +If the boat is frozen in below there they must remain till she thaws +out again. Consequently their desire to finish the voyage before the +ice is running.”</p> + +<p>At Igiratiena I met Colonel Shobeltsin, an officer identified with all +the movements for the final occupation of the Amoor. In 1852 he made a +journey from Irkutsk to Nicolayevsk, following a route up to that time +untraveled. He accompanied Mouravieff’s expedition in 1854, and was +afterward intimately connected with colonization enterprises. A few +years ago he retired from service and settled at this village. His +face indicates his long and arduous service, and I presume he has seen +enough hardship to enjoy comfort for the rest of his days.</p> + +<p>His house was the best on the Amoor above Blagoveshchensk and very +comfortably furnished. In the principal room there were portraits of +many Russian notabilities, with lithographs and steel engravings from +various parts of the world. Among them were two pictures of American +country life, bearing the imprint of a New York publisher. I had +frequently seen these lithographs in a window on Nassau street, little +thinking I should find them on the other side of the world. One room +was quite a museum and contained a variety of articles made by +Manjours and Tunguze. There were heads of deer, sable, and birds, +while a quantity of furs hung near the door.</p> + +<p>With a spirit of hospitality the Colonel prepared us a breakfast +during our brief stay, and invited us to join him in the beverage of +the country. When we returned to the boat the steward was +superintending the killing of a bullock at the bank. Half a dozen +wolfish dogs were standing ready to breakfast as soon as the +slaughtering was over. A Cossack officer in a picturesque costume +stood on the bank near the boat. He wore an embroidered coat of +sheepskin, the wool inside, a shaggy cap of coal-black wool, and a +pair of fur-topped boots. All his garments were new and well fitting, +and contrasted greatly with the greasy and long used coats of the +Cossacks on the boat. Sheepskin garments can look more repulsive than +cloth ones with equal wearing. Age can wither and custom stale their +infinite variety.</p> + +<p>Winding among the mountains and cliffs that enclose the valley we +reached in the evening a village four miles below the head of the +Amoor. I rose at daybreak on the 17th to make my adieus to the river. +The morning was clear and frosty, and the stars were twinkling in the +sky, save in the east where the blush of dawn was visible. The hills +were faintly touched with a little snow that had fallen during the +night. The trunks of the birches rose like ghosts among the pines and +larches of the forest, while craggy rocks pushed out here and there +like battlements of a fortress. The pawing steamer with her mane of +stars breasted the current with her prow bearing directly toward the +west.</p> + +<p>“Just around that point,” said the first officer of the Korsackoff as +he directed his finger toward a headland on the Chinese shore, “you +will see the mouth of the Argoon on the left and the Shilka on the +right;—wait a moment, it is not quite time yet.”</p> + +<p>When we rounded the promontory dawn had grown to daylight, and the +mountains on the south bank of the Argoon came into view. A few +minutes later I saw the defile of the Shilka. Between the streams the +mountains narrowed and came to a point a mile above the meeting of the +waters. On the delta below the mountains is the Russian village and +Cossack post of Oust-Strelka (Arrow Mouth,) situated in Latitude 53° +19′ 45″ North, and Longitude 121° 50′ 7″ East. It is on the Argoon +side of the delta and contains but a few houses. I knew by the smoke +that so gracefully curled in the cold atmosphere that the inhabitants +were endeavoring to make themselves comfortable.</p> + +<p>The Amoor is formed by the union of these rivers, just as the Ohio is +formed by the Allegheny and Monongahela. Geographers generally admit +that the parent stream of a river is the one whose source is farthest +from the junction. The Argoon flows from the lake Koulon, which is +filled by the river Kerolun, rising in the Kentei Khan mountains in +Northern Mongolia. Together the Argoon and Kerolun have a development +of more than a thousand miles. There are many Cossacks settled along +the Argoon as a frontier guard. The river is not navigable, owing to +numerous rocks and rapids.</p> + +<p>Genghis Khan, who subdued China and began that wonderful career of +Tartar conquest that extended to Middle Europe, was born on the banks +of the Kerolun. Some of his early battles were fought in its valley.</p> + +<p>The Shilka is formed by the Onon and Ingodah, that rise in the region +north of the head waters of the Kerolun. From the sources of the Onon +to Oust-Strelka is a distance of seven hundred and fifty miles. There +are many gold mines along this river, and the whole mountain chain is +known to be rich in minerals. Including its tributaries on both sides +and at its formation, the Amoor as it flows into the Gulf of Tartary +drains a territory of 766,000 square miles.</p> + +<p>There is a little island just below the point of land extending +between the two rivers. As we approached it the steamer turned to the +right and proceeded up the Shilka, leaving the Amoor behind us. I may +never see this great river again, but I shall never forget its +magnificent valley and its waters washing the boundaries of two +empires and bringing the civilization of the East and West in contact. +I shall never forget its many islands, among which we wound our +tortuous way; its green meadows, its steep cliffs, and its blue +mountains, that formed an ever-changing and ever beautiful picture. I +shall never forget its forests where the yellow hues of autumn +contrasted with the evergreen pine and its kindred, and which nature +has lavishly spread to shield the earth from the pitiless storm and +give man wherewith to erect his habitation and light his hearthstone +with generous fire. Mountain, hill, forest, island, and river will +rise to me hereafter in imagination as they rose then in reality. A +voyage along the entire course of the Amoor is one that the longest +lifetime cannot efface from the memory.</p> + +<p>For a hundred and sixty years the little post of Oust-Strelka was the +most easterly possession of Russia in the Amoor valley. In 1847 +Lieutenant General Mouravieff, having been appointed Governor General +of Eastern Siberia, determined to explore the river. In the following +spring he sent an officer with four Cossacks to descend the Amoor as +far as was prudent. The officer took a liberal supply of presents for +the people along the banks, and was instructed to avoid all collisions +with the natives and not to enter their towns. From the day of his +departure to the present nothing has ever been heard of him or his +men. Diligent inquiries have been made among the natives and the +Chinese authorities, but no information gained. It is supposed the +party were drowned by accident, or killed by hostile residents along +the river.</p> + +<p>In 1850 and the three following years the mouth of the Amoor was +examined and settlements founded, as already described. The year 1854 +is memorable for the first descent of the Amoor by a military +expedition. The outbreak of the Crimean war rendered it necessary to +supply the Russian fleet in the Pacific. The colonies on the Pacific +needed provisions, and the Amoor offered the only feasible route to +send them. General Mouravieff made his preparations, and obtained the +consent of his government to the important step. He asked the +permission of the Chinese, but those worthies were as dilatory as +usual, and Mouravieff could not wait. He left Shilikinsk on the 27th +of May, escorted by a thousand soldiers with several guns, and +carrying an ample supply of provisions for the Pacific fleet.</p> + +<p>The Chinese made no actual opposition, but satisfied themselves with +counting the boats that passed. Mouravieff supplied the fleet at the +mouth of the Amoor, and then returned by way of Ayan to Irkutsk. The +troops were left to garrison the fortified points on or near the sea. +In 1855 three more expeditions left Shilikinsk with soldiers and +colonists. General Mouravieff accompanied the first of these +expeditions and went directly to Nicolayevsk. The allied fleet +attempted to enter the Amoor but could not succeed. The general sent +his compliments to the English Admiral and told him to come on if he +could and he should be warmly received. In 1856 a few Cossack posts +were established along the river, and in the next year nearly three +thousand Cossacks were sent there. The Chinese made a formal protest +against these movements, and there were fears of a hostile collision. +The reverses that China suffered from the English and French prevented +war with Russia, and in 1858 Mouravieff concluded a treaty at Igoon by +which the Russian claim to the country north of the Amoor and east of +the Ousuree was acknowledged. The Russians were thus firmly +established, and the development of the country has progressed +peacefully since that period.</p> + +<p>As the Argoon from its mouth to Lake Kerolun forms the boundary +between the empires I lost sight of China when we entered the Shilka. +As I shivered on the steamer’s bridge, my breath congealing on my +beard, and the hills beyond the Amoor and Argoon white with the early +snow of winter, I could not see why the Celestials call their land the +‘Central Flowery Kingdom.’</p> + +<p>The Shilka has a current flowing four or five miles an hour. The +average speed of the Korsackoff in ascending was about four miles. The +river wound among mountains that descended to the water without +intervening plateaus, and only on rare occasions were meadows visible. +The forests were pine and larch, with many birches. The lower part of +the Shilka has very little agricultural land, and the only settlements +are the stations kept by a few Cossacks, who cut wood for the steamers +and supply horses to the post and travelers in winter.</p> + +<p>The first night after leaving the Amoor there was a picturesque scene +at our wooding station. The mountains were revealed by the setting +moon, and their outline against the sky was sharply defined. We had a +large fire of pine boughs burning on the shore, and its bright flames +lighted both sides of the river. The boatmen in their sheepskin coats +and hats walked slowly to and fro, and gave animation to the picture. +While I wrote my journal the horses above me danced as though +frolicking over a hornet’s nest, and reduced sentimental thoughts to a +minimum. To render the subject more interesting two officers and the +priest grew noisy over a triple game of cards and a bottle of vodki. I +wrote in my overcoat, as the thermometer was at 30° with no fire in +the cabin.</p> + +<p>We frequently met rafts with men and horses descending to supply the +post stations, or bound on hunting excursions. I was told that the +hunters float down the river on rafts and then make long circuits by +land to their points of departure. The Siberian squirrel is very +abundant in the mountains north of the Shilka, and his fur is an +important article of commerce.</p> + +<p>We stopped at Gorbitza, near the mouth of the Gorbitza river, that +formerly separated Russia and China and was the boundary up to 1854.</p> + +<p>Above this point the villages had an appearance of respectable age not +perceptible in the settlements along the Amoor. Ten or twelve miles +from our wooding place we met ice coming out of the Chorney river, but +it gave us no inconvenience. The valley became wider and the hills +less abrupt, while the villages had an air of irregularity more +pleasing than the military precision on the Amoor. I saw many +dwellings on which decay’s effacing fingers were busy. The telegraph +posts were fixed above Gorbitza, but the wires had not been strung.</p> + +<p>There were many haystacks at the villages, and I could see droves of +cattle and sheep on the cleared hills. At one landing I found a man +preparing his house for winter by calking the seams with moss. Under +the eaves of another house there were many birds that resembled +American swallows. I could not say whether they were migratory or not, +but if the former they were making their northern stay a late one. +Their twitterings reminded me of the time when I used to go at +nightfall, ‘when the swallows homeward fly,’ and listen to the music +without melody as the birds exchanged their greetings, told their +loves, and gossipped of their adventures.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg252-1.gif' id='lg252-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>PREPARING FOR WINTER.</p></div> + +<p>Just at sunset we reached Shilikinsk, a town stretching nearly two +miles along the river, on a plateau thirty feet high. We stopped in +the morning where there was abundance of wood, but only took enough to +carry us to Shilikinsk. There was a lady in the case. Our first +officer had a feminine acquaintance at the town, and accordingly +wished to stop for wood, and, if possible, to pass the night there. +His plan failed, as no wood could be discovered at Shilikinsk, though +our loving mate scanned every part of the bank. We had enough fuel to +take us a few miles farther, where we found wood and remained for the +night. The disappointed swain pocketed his chagrin and solaced himself +by playing the agreeable to a lady passenger.</p> + +<p>I saw in the edge of the town a large building surrounded with a +palisaded wall. “What is that?” I asked, pointing to the structure new +to my eyes.</p> + +<p>“It is a station for exiles,” was my friend’s reply, “when they pass +through the town. They generally remain here over night, and sometimes +a few days, and this is their lodging. You will see many such on your +way through Siberia.”</p> + +<p>“Is it also the prison for those who are kept here permanently?” “No; +the prison is another affair. The former prison at Shilikinsk has been +converted into a glass manufactory. Just behind it is a large tannery, +heretofore celebrated throughout Eastern Siberia for its excellent +leather.”</p> + +<p>As we proceeded the country became more open and less mountainous, and +I saw wide fields on either side. A road was visible along the +northern bank of the river, sometimes cut in the hillside where the +slope was steep. On the southern bank there was no road beyond that +for local use. The telegraph followed the northern side, but +frequently left the road to take short cuts across the hills.</p> + +<p>We struck a rock ten miles from our journey’s end, and for several +minutes I thought we should go gracefully to the bottom. We whirled +twice around on the rock before we left it, and our captain feared we +had sprung a leak. When once more afloat Borasdine and I packed our +baggage and prepared for the shore. We ate the last of our preserves +and gave sundry odds and ends to the Cossacks. As a last act we opened +the remaining bottles of a case of champagne, and joined officers and +fellow passengers in drinking everybody’s health.</p> + +<p>Late in the afternoon of the 20th October we were in sight of +Stratensk. The summer barracks were first visible, and a moment later +I could see the church dome. In nearly all Russian towns the churches +are the first objects visible on arriving and the last on departing. +Tho house of worship is no less prominent in the picture of a Russian +village than the ceremonies of religion in the daily life of the +people.</p> + +<p>There was a large crowd on the bank to welcome us. Officers, soldiers, +merchants, Cossacks, peasants, women, children, and dogs were in +goodly numbers. Our own officers were in full uniform to make their +calls on shore. The change of costume that came over several +passengers was interesting in the extreme.</p> + +<p>At last the steamer ceased her asthmatic wheeze and dropped her anchor +at the landing. We gave our baggage to a Cossack to take to the hotel. +Soon as the rush over the plank was ended I walked ashore from the +Korsackoff for the last time.</p> + +<p>So ended, for the present, my water journeying. I had zig-zagged from +New York a distance, by my line of travel, not less than fifteen +thousand miles. The only actual land route on my way had been +forty-seven miles between Aspinwall and Panama. I had traveled on two +ocean passenger-steamers, one private steamer of miniature size, a +Russian corvette, a gunboat of the Siberian fleet, and two river boats +of the Amoor flotilla. Not a serious accident had occurred to mar the +pleasure of the journey. There had been discomforts, privations, and +little annoyances of sufficient frequency, but they only added +interest to the way.</p> + +<p>The proverb well says there is no rose without a thorn, and it might +add that the rose would be less appreciable were there no thorn. Half +our pleasures have their zest in the toil through which they are +gained. In travel, the little hardships and vexations bring the +novelties and comforts into stronger relief, and make the voyager’s +happiness more real. It is an excellent trait of human nature that the +traveler can remember with increased vividness the pleasing features +of his journey while he forgets their opposites. Privations and +discomforts appeal directly to the body; their effect once passed the +physical system courts oblivion. Pleasures reach our higher being, +which experiences, enjoys, and remembers.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_254'></a> +<img src="images/sm254-1.gif" id='sm254-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXII.</h2></div> + + +<p>Stratensk is neither large nor handsome. The most I saw of it was near +the hotel whither we went from the boat. The rooms we were shown into +faced the river, and had high walls decorated with a few pictures. My +apartment had a brick stove in one corner, a table, three or four +chairs, and a wide sofa or cushioned bench without a back. This last +article served as bed by night and seat by day. No bed clothing is +furnished in a Siberian hotel, each traveler being expected to carry +his own supply.</p> + +<p>The government has a foundry and repair shop two miles above the town, +where several steamers pass the winter and have their machinery +repaired. Immediately on arrival we sent to request Mr. Lovett, the +gentleman in charge of the works, to call upon us. He responded +promptly, and came while we were at supper. Being English and with a +slight tendency to <i>embonpoint</i>, he readily accepted several bottles +of ‘Bass & Co.’ that remained from our small stores. He was +accompanied by Captain Ivashinsoff, who spoke English easily and well. +His knowledge of it was obtained rather romantically as the story was +told me.</p> + +<p>Two years earlier this officer happened in Hong Kong and during his +stay an American vessel arrived. Her captain had been seriously ill +for some weeks and totally incapable of duty. The first mate died on +the voyage, and the second was not equal to the difficulties of +navigation. The captain was accompanied by his daughter, who had been +several years at sea and learned the mysteries of Bowditch more as a +pastime than for anything else. In the dilemma she assumed control of +the ship, making the daily observation and employing the mate as +executive officer. When they reached Hong Kong the captain was just +recovering. The young woman came on shore, saw and conquered the +Russian. Neither spoke the other’s language, and their conversation +was conducted in French. After their marriage they began to study, and +had made such progress that I found the captain speaking good English, +and learned that the lady was equally fluent in Russian. She was +living at Stratensk at the time of my visit, and I greatly regretted +that our short stay prevented my seeing her. She was a native of +Chelsea, Massachusetts, and was said to enjoy her home on the Amoor.</p> + +<p>Three or four steamers were in winter quarters, and the Korsackoff was +to join them immediately. Both at Stratensk and Nicolayevsk it is the +custom to remove the machinery from steamers during winter. It is +carefully housed to prevent its rusting, and I presume to lessen the +loss in case of fire or damage from breaking ice.</p> + +<p>We talked with our new friends till late in the evening, and then +prepared to continue our journey. Lovett gave me his blessing and a +feather pillow; the former to cover general accidents and the latter +to prevent contusions from the jolting vehicle. Borasdine obtained a +Cossack to accompany us on the road and ordered our baggage made +ready. The Cossack piled it into a wagon and it was transported to the +ferry landing and dumped upon the gravel. We followed and halted in +front of the palisaded hotel of the exiles. The ferry boat was on the +opposite shore, four or five hundred yards away. Borasdine called, but +the boatmen did not rise.</p> + +<p>“Dai sloopka!” (send a boat.)</p> + +<p>After a moment’s pause he repeated:</p> + +<p>“Dai sloopka!”</p> + +<p>He added the usually magic word “courier!” but it had no effect. He +shouted repeatedly and grew hoarse. Then I lifted up my voice like a +pelican in the wilderness, but with no better effect. When we had +almost reached the pitch of despair a man appeared from behind a wood +pile and tried his vocal organs in our behalf. At his second call a +reply was given, and very soon a light twinkled at the ferry house.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg257-1.gif' id='xlg257-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>STRATENSK, EASTERN SIBERIA.</p></div> + +<p>The boat was a long time coming, and while we waited its arrival a +drunken Bouriat made himself unpleasantly familiar. As often as I +changed my position he would come to my side and endeavor to rest his +dirty arm on my shoulder. I finally walked through a pile of brushwood +and crooked sticks, which was too much for the native with his weak +knees and muddy brain. After struggling with a persistency that would +have been commendable had the object to be attained been commensurate +to the effort, he became inextricably tangled, and I left him in the +loving embrace of a decayed tree-top.</p> + +<p>The boat came with four shaggy ferrymen, who had some difficulty in +reaching land. It was a kind of large skiff, high at both ends and +having a platform, like that of a hay-scale, in the center. The +platform projected a foot or more beyond the sides of the boat, and +had no railing to prevent a frightened horse or drunken man going +overboard. This is the general style of river ferry boats in Siberia. +The boatmen do not appear very skillful in handling them, but I +learned that serious accidents were very rare.</p> + +<p>We piled our baggage and left the shore, running upon two rocks and +colliding with a sandbar before getting fairly away. I fell asleep +during the crossing, satisfied that the crew did not need my +assistance. We landed where the road is cut into the rocky bank, and +were obliged to lift the baggage over a pile of stony debris. The +boatmen said it was impossible to go to the regular landing, but I +suspect they wished an extra gratuity for handling our impedimenta. +Before the work was finished they regretted their manoeuvre.</p> + +<p>As we touched the shore one man went to the station to bring horses +and a vehicle. Borasdine and I scrambled over the rocks to the road +fifteen feet above the water, and by the time the crew brought up our +baggage the conveyance arrived. It was what the Russians call a +<i>telyaga</i>, drawn by three horses.</p> + +<p>This carriage is of Quaker simplicity. There are four wheels on wooden +axles, with rough but strong ‘reaches.’ A body, shaped something like +an old-fashioned baby-cart, rests upon the reaches or on poles fixed +over them. The hood protects against wind and rain from behind, and +the best of the vehicles have boots buttoned in front and attached to +the hoods. The driver sits on the bow directly behind the shaft-horse, +and one part of his duty is to keep from falling off. The traveler +spreads his baggage inside as evenly as possible to form a bed or +cushion. Angular pieces should be discarded, as the corners are +disagreeable when jolted against one’s sides. Two shafts are fixed in +the forward axle, and a horse between them forms a sort of <i>point +d’appui</i>. Any number from one to six can be tied on outside of him.</p> + +<p>The fault of our baggage was that we, or rather I, had too much. +Worst of all, I had a wooden trunk that I proposed throwing away at +Nicolayevsk, but had been told I could carry to Irkutsk without +trouble. It could not ride inside, or if it did we could not. We +placed the small articles in the interior of the vehicle, and tied the +trunk and Borasdine’s <i>chemadan</i> on the projecting poles behind. The +<i>chemadan</i> is in universal use among Siberian travelers, and admirably +adapted to the road. It is made of soft leather, fastens with a lacing +of deer-skin thongs, and can be lashed nearly water tight. It will +hold a great deal,—I never saw one completely filled,—and +accommodates itself to the shape of its aggregate contents. It can be +of any size up to three or four feet long, and its dimensions are +proportioned to each other about like those of an ordinary +pocket-book. A great advantage is the absence of sharp corners and the +facility of packing closely.</p> + +<p>We acted contrary to the custom of the country in tying our baggage +behind. There are gentlemen of the road in Siberia as there are ‘road +agents’ in California. The Siberian highwaymen rarely disturb the +person of a traveler, but their chief amusement is to cut away outside +packages. As a precaution we mounted our Cossack on the trunk, but +before we went a mile he fell from his perch in spite of his utmost +efforts to cling to the vehicle. After that event he rode by the +driver’s side.</p> + + +<p>On seeing Lovett at Stratensk my first question related to the +condition of the road. “Horrid,” said he. “The worst time to travel. +There has been much rain and cold weather. You will find mud either +soft or frozen most of the way to Chetah.”</p> + +<p>Before we started the driver brought an additional horse, and after a +preliminary kick or two we took the road. For a few miles we went up +and down hills along the edge of the river, where the route has been +cut at much labor and expense. This was not especially bad, the worst +places being at the hollows between the hills where the mud was +half-congealed. When we left the river we found the mud that Lovett +prophesied. Quality and quantity were alike disagreeable. All roads +have length more or less; ours had length, breadth, depth, and +thickness. The bottom was not regular like that of the Atlantic, but +broken into inequalities that gave an uneasy motion to the telyaga.</p> + +<p>To travel in Siberia one must have a <i>padaroshnia</i>, or road pass, from +the government authorities, stating the number of horses to which he +is entitled. There are three grades of padaroshnia; the first for high +officials and couriers; the second for officers on ordinary business; +and the third for civilian travelers. The first and second are issued +free to those entitled to receive them, and the third is purchased at +the rate of half a copeck a verst. These papers serve the double +purpose of bringing revenue to government and preventing unauthorized +persons traveling about the country. A traveler properly provided +presents his papers at a post-station and receives horses in his turn +according to the character of his documents.</p> + +<p>A person with a courier’s pass is never detained for want of animals; +other travelers must take their chance. Of course the second class of +passport precedes the third by an inflexible rule. Suppose A has a +second class and B a third class padaroshnia. A reaches a station and +finds B with a team ready to start. If there are no more horses the +<i>smotretal</i> (station master) detaches the animals from B’s vehicle and +supplies them to A. B must wait until he can be served; it may be an +hour, a day, or a week.</p> + +<p>The stations are kept by contract. The government locates a station +and its lessee is paid a stipulated sum each year. He agrees to keep +the requisite horses and drivers, the numbers varying according to the +importance of the route. He contracts to carry the post each way from +his station to the next, the price for this service being included in +the annual payment. He must keep one vehicle and three horses at all +times ready for couriers. Couriers, officers, and travelers of every +kind pay at each station the rate fixed by law.</p> + +<p>In Kamchatka and North Eastern Siberia the post route is equipped +with dog-teams, just as it has horses in more southerly latitudes. In +the northern part of Yakutsk the reindeer is used for postal or +traveling service. A padaroshnia calls for a given number of horses, +usually three, without regard to the number of persons traveling upon +it. Generally the names of all who are to use it are written on the +paper, but this is not absolutely necessary. Borasdine had a +padaroshnia and so had I, but mine was not needed as long as we kept +together.</p> + +<p>The post carriages must be changed at every station. Constant changing +is a great trouble, especially if one has much baggage. In a wet or +cold night when you have settled comfortably into a warm nest, and +possibly fallen asleep, it is an intolerable nuisance to turn out and +transfer. To remedy this evil one can buy a <i>tarantass</i>, a vehicle on +the general principle of the telyaga, but larger, stronger, and better +in every way. When he buys there is a scarcity and the price is high, +but when he has finished his journey and wishes to sell, it is +astonishing how the market is glutted. At Stratensk I endeavored to +purchase a tarantass, but only one could be had. This was too +rheumatic for the journey, and very groggy in the springs, so at the +advice of Lovett I adhered to the telyaga.</p> + +<p>The Russians apply the term ‘equipage’ to any vehicle, whether on +wheels or runners, and with or without its motive power. It is a +generic definition, and can include anything drawn by horses, dogs, +deer, or camels. The word sounds very well when applied to a +fashionable turnout, but less so when speaking of a dirt-cart or +wheelbarrow.</p> + +<p>The same word, ‘equipage,’ is used in Russian as in French to denote a +ship’s crew. In this connection I heard an amusing story, vouched for +as correct. A few years after the disappearance of Sir John Franklin +the English Admiralty requested the Russian government to make +inquiries for the lost navigator along the coast and islands of the +Arctic Ocean. An order to that effect was sent to the Siberian +authorities, and they in turn commanded all subordinates to inquire +and report. A petty officer some where in Western Siberia was puzzled +at the printed order to ‘inquire concerning the English Captain, John +Franklin, and his equipage.’ In due time he reported:</p> + +<p>“I have made the proper inquiries. I can learn nothing about Captain +Franklin; but in one of my villages there is an old sleigh that no one +claims, and it may be his equipage.”</p> + +<p>We carried one and sometimes two bells on the yoke of our shaft-horse +to signify that we traveled by post. Every humbler vehicle was +required to give us the entire road, at least such was the theory. +Sometimes we obtained it, and sometimes the approaching drivers were +asleep, and the horses kept their own way. When this occurred our +driver generally took an opportunity to bring his whip lash upon the +sleeper. It is a privilege he enjoys when driving a post carriage to +strike his delinquent fellow man if in reach. I presume this is a +partial consolation for the kicks and blows occasionally showered upon +himself. Humanity in authority is pretty certain to give others the +treatment itself has received. Only great natures will deal charity +and kindness when remembering oppression and cruelty.</p> + +<p>I was not consulted when our telyaga was built, else it would have +been wider and longer. When our small parcels were arranged inside +there was plenty of room for one but hardly enough for two. Borasdine +and I were of equal height, and neither measured a hair’s breadth less +than six feet. When packed for riding I came in questionable shape, my +body and limbs forming a geometric figure that Euclid never knew. +Notwithstanding my cramped position I managed to doze a little, and +contemplated an essay on a new mode of triangulation. We rattled our +bones over the stones and frozen earth, and dragged and dripped +through the mud to the first station. As we reached the establishment +our Cossack and driver shouted “<i>courier!</i>” in tones that soon brought +the smotretal and his attendants. They rubbed their half-open eyes and +bestirred themselves to bring horses. The word ‘courier’ invigorates +the attachés of a post route, as they well know that the bearer of a +courier’s pass must not be delayed. Ten minutes are allowed for +changing a courier’s horses, and the change is often made in six or +eight minutes. The length of a journey depends considerably upon the +time consumed at stations.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg263-1.gif' id='lg263-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A SIBERIAN TARANTASS.</p></div> + +<p>Here we found a tarantass, neither new nor elegant, but strong and +capacious. We hired it to Nerchinsk, and our Cossack transferred the +baggage while four little rats of ponies were being harnessed. The +harness used on this road was a combination of leather and hemp in +about equal proportions. There were always traces of ropes more or +less twisted. It is judicious to carry a quantity of rope in one’s +vehicle for use in case of accident. A Russian <i>yemshick</i> (driver) is +quite skillful in repairing breakages if he can find enough rope for +his purpose.</p> + +<p>The horses, like many other terrestrial things, were better than they +appeared, and notwithstanding the bad road they carried us at good +speed. I was told that the horses between Stratensk and Lake Baikal +were strangers to corn and oats, and not over familiar with hay. Those +at the post stations must be fed in the stable, but nearly all others +hunt their own food. In summer they can easily do this, but in winter +they subsist on the dry grass standing on the hills and prairies. +There is little snow in this region, but when it falls on the pastures +the horses scrape it away to reach the grass. They are never +blanketed, in the coldest weather, and the only brushing they receive +is when they run among bushes.</p> + +<p>In the government of Yakutsk there are many horses that find their own +living in winter as in summer. They eat grass, moss, fish, bushes, and +sometimes the bark of trees. Captain Wrangell tells of the great +endurance of these beasts, and says that like all other animals of +that region they shed their coats in the middle of summer.</p> + +<p>At the second station the smotretal sought our horses among the +village peasants, as he had none of his own. He explained that a high +official had passed and taken the horses usually kept for the courier. +This did not satisfy Borasdine, who entered complaint in the +regulation book, stating the circumstances of the affair. At every +station there is a book sealed to a small table and open to public +inspection. An aggrieved traveler is at liberty to record a statement +of his trouble. At regular intervals an officer investigates the +affairs of every station. Complaints are examined, and offences +treated according to their character. This wholesome regulation keeps +the station masters in proper restraint.</p> + +<p>Day had fairly opened through a dense fog when our delay ended. While +we descended a long hill one of our hinder wheels parted company and +took a tangent to the road side. We were in full gallop at the time, +but did not keep it up long. A pole from a neighboring fence, held by +a Pole from Warsaw, lifted the axle so that the wheel could be +replaced. I assisted by leaving the carriage and standing at the +roadside till all was ready. We had some doubts about the vehicle +holding together much longer, but it behaved very well. The tarantass +is a marvel of endurance. To listen to the creaking of its joints, and +observe its air of infirmity, lead to the belief that it will go to +pieces within a few hours. It rattles and groans and threatens prompt +analysis, but some how it continues cohesive and preserves its +identity hundreds of miles over rough roads.</p> + +<p>We were merciless to the horses as they were not ours and we were in a +hurry. When the driver allowed them to lag, Borasdine ejaculated +‘POSHOL!’ with a great deal of emphasis and much effect. This word is +like ‘faster’ in English, and is learned very early in a traveler’s +career in Russia. I acquired it before reaching the first station on +my ride, and could use it very skillfully. In the same connection are +the words ‘<i>droghi</i>’ (‘touch up,’) ‘<i>skorey</i>’ (‘hurry,’) and +‘<i>stupie</i>’ (‘go ahead.’) All these commands have the accent upon the +last syllable, and are very easy to the vocal organs. I learned them +all and often used them, but to this day I do not know the Russian +word for ‘slower.’ I never had occasion to employ it while in the +empire, except once when thrown down an icy slope with a heap of +broken granite at its base, and at another time when a couple of +pretty girls were standing by the roadside and, as I presumed, wanted +to look at me.</p> + +<p>From Stratensk to Nerchinsk, a distance of sixty miles, our road led +among hills, undulating ground, meadows, and strips of steppe, or +prairie, sometimes close to the river, and again several miles away. +The country is evidently well adapted to agriculture, the condition of +the farms and villages indicating prosperity. I saw much grain in +stacks or gathered in small barns. As it was Sunday no work was in +progress, and there were but few teams in motion anywhere. The roads +were such that no one would travel for pleasure, and the first day of +the week is not used for business journeys.</p> + +<p>From the top of a hill I looked into the wide and beautiful valley of +the Nertcha, which enters the Shilka from the north. On its left bank +and two or three miles from its mouth is the town of Nerchinsk with +five or six thousand inhabitants. Its situation is charming, and to me +the view was especially pleasing, as it was the first Russian town +where I saw evidences of age and wealth. The domes of its churches +glistened in the sunlight that had broken through the fog and warmed +the tints of the whole picture. The public buildings and many private +residences had an air of solidity. Some of the merchants’ houses would +be no discredit to New York or London. The approach from the east is +down a hill sloping toward the banks of the Nertcha.</p> + +<p>We entered the gateway of Nerchinsk, and after passing some of the +chief buildings drove to the house of Mr. Kaporaki, where we were +received with open arms. Borasdine and his acquaintance kissed +affectionately, and after their greeting ended I was introduced. We +unloaded from the tarantass, piled our baggage in the hallway, and +dismissed the driver with the borrowed vehicle. Almost before we were +out of our wrappings the samovar was steaming, and we sat down to a +comforting breakfast, with abundance of tea. And didn’t we enjoy it +after riding eight or ten hours over a road that would have shaken +skimmilk into butter? You bet we did.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_266'></a> +<img src="images/sm266-1.gif" id='sm266-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>The heaviest fortunes at Nerchinsk have been made in commerce and gold +mining, principally the latter. I met one man reputed to possess three +million roubles, and two others who were each put down at over a +million. Mr. Kaporaki, our host, was a successful gold miner, if I may +judge by what I saw. His dwelling was an edifice somewhat resembling +Arlington House, but without its signs of decay. The principal rooms I +entered were his library, parlor, and dining-room; the first was neat +and cozy, and the second elaborately fitted with furniture from St. +Petersburg. Both were hung with pictures and paintings, the former +bearing French imprints. His dining-room was in keeping with the rest +of the establishment, and I could hardly realize that I was in +Siberia, five thousand miles from the Russian capital and nearly half +that distance from the Pacific Ocean. The realization was more +difficult when our host named a variety of wines ready for our use. +Would we take sherry, port, or madiera, or would we prefer +Johannisberg, Hockheimer, or Verzenay? Would we try Veuve Cliquot, or +Carte d’Or? A box of genuine Havanas stood upon his library table, and +received our polite attention. We arrived about ten in the morning, +and on consenting to remain till afternoon a half dozen merchants were +invited to join us at dinner.</p> + +<p>Mr. Kaporaki’s gold mines were on the tributaries of the Nertcha, +about a hundred miles away. From his satisfied air in showing +specimens and figures I concluded his claims were profitable. The +mining season had just closed, and he was footing up his gains and +losses for the year. The gold he exhibited was in coarse scales, with +occasional nuggets, and closely resembled the product I saw a few +months earlier of some washings near Mariposa.</p> + +<p>The gold on the Nertcha and its tributaries is found in the sand and +earth that form the bed of the streams. Often it is many feet deep and +requires much ‘stripping.’ I heard of one <i>priesk</i> (claim) where the +pay-dirt commenced sixty-five feet from the surface. Notwithstanding +the great expense of removing the superincumbent earth, the mine had +been worked to a profit. Twenty or thirty feet of earth to take away +is by no means uncommon. The pay-dirt is very rich, and the estimates +of its yield are stated at so many <i>zolotniks</i> of gold for a hundred +poods of earth. From one pood of dirt, of course unusually rich, Mr. +Kaporaki obtained 24 zolotniks, or three ounces of gold. In another +instance ten poods of dirt yielded 90 zolotniks of gold. The ordinary +yield, as near as I could ascertain, was what a Californian would call +five or six cents to the pan.</p> + +<p>Each of these merchant-miners pays to the government fifteen per cent. +of all gold he obtains, and is not allowed to sell the dust except to +the proper officials. He delivers his gold and receives the money for +it as soon as it is melted and assayed. It was hinted to me that much +gold was smuggled across the frontier into China, and never saw the +treasury of his Imperial Majesty, the Czar. The Cossacks of the Argoon +keep a sharp watch for traffic of this kind. “They either,” said my +informant, “deliver a culprit over to justice or, what is the same +thing, compel him to bribe them heavily to say nothing.”</p> + +<p>Nerchinsk formerly stood at the junction of the Nertcha and Shilka, on +the banks of both rivers, but the repeated damage from floods caused +its removal. Even on its present site it is not entirely safe from +inundation, the lower part of the town having been twice under water +and in danger of being washed away.</p> + +<p>Many of the present inhabitants are exiles or the descendants of +exiles, Nerchinsk having been a place of banishment for political and +criminal offenders during the last hundred years. Those condemned to +work in the mines were sent to Great Nerchinsk Zavod, about two +hundred miles away. The town was the center of the military and mining +district, and formerly had more importance than at present. Many +participants in the insurrection of 1825 were sent there, among them +the princes Trubetskoi and Volbonskoi. After laboring in the mines and +on the roads of Nerchinsk, they were sent to Chetah, where they were +employed in a polishing mill.</p> + +<p>In many stories about Siberian exiles, published in England and +America, Nerchinsk has occupied a prominent position. As far as I +could observe it is not a place of perpetual frost and snow, its +summers being warm though brief. In winter it has cold winds blowing +occasionally from the Yablonoi mountains down the valley of the +Nertcha. The region is very well adapted to agriculture, and the +valley as I saw it had an attractive appearance.</p> + +<p>The product of the Nerchinsk mines has been silver, gold, and lead. +The search for silver and lead has diminished since the mines were +opened to private enterprise. At one time 40,000 poods of lead were +produced here annually, most of it being sent to the Altai mountains +to be employed in reducing silver. In most places where explored the +country is rich in gold, and I have little doubt that thorough +prospecting would reveal many placers equaling the best of those in +California.</p> + +<p>Very few exiles are now sent to Nerchinsk in comparison with the +numbers formerly banished there. Under the reign of Nicholas and his +father Nerchinsk received its greatest accessions, the Polish +revolutions and the revolt of 1825 contributing largely to its +population. Places of exile have always been selected with relation to +the offence and character of the prisoners. The worst offenders, +either political or criminal, were generally sent to the mines of +Nerchinsk, their terms of service varying from two to twenty years, or +for life. I was told that the longest sentence now given is for twenty +years. The condition of prisoners in former times was doubtless bad, +and there are many stories of cruelty and extortion practiced by +keepers and commandants. The dwellings of prisoners were frequently no +better than the huts of savages; their food and clothing were poor and +insufficient; they were compelled to labor in half frozen mud and +water for twelve or fourteen hours daily, and beaten when they +faltered.</p> + +<p>The treatment of prisoners depended greatly upon the character of the +commandant of the mines. Of the brutality of some officials and the +kindness of others there can be little doubt. We have sufficient proof +of the varied qualities of the human heart in the conduct of +prison-keepers in America during our late war. There have been many +exaggerations concerning the treatment of exiles. I do not say there +has been no cruelty, but that less has occurred than some writers +would have us believe. Before leaving America I read of the rigorous +manner in which the sentence of the conspirators of 1825 was carried +out. According to one authority the men were loaded with chains and +compelled to the hardest labor in the mines under relentless +overseers. They were badly lodged, fed with insufficient food, and +when ill had little or no medical treatment.</p> + +<p>Nearly all these unfortunates were of noble families and never +performed manual labor before reaching the mines. They had been +tenderly reared, and were mostly young and unused to the hardships of +life outside the capitals. Thrust at once into the mines of Siberia +they could hardly survive a lengthened period of the cruelty alleged. +Most of them served out their sentences and retained their health. +Some returned to Europe after more than thirty years exile, and a few +were living in Siberia at the time of my visit, forty-one years after +their banishment. I conclude they were either blessed with more than +iron constitutions, or there is some mistake in the account of their +suffering and privation.</p> + +<p>Many attempts have been made to escape from these mines, but very few +were completely successful. Some prisoners crossed into China after +dodging the vigilant Cossacks on the frontier, but they generally +perished in the deserts of Mongolia, either by starvation or at the +hands of the natives. I have heard of two who reached the Gulf of +Pecheli after many hardships, where they captured a Chinese fishing +boat and put to sea. When almost dead of starvation they were picked +up by an English barque and carried to Shanghae, where the foreign +merchants supplied them with money to find their way to Paris.</p> + +<p>A better route than this was by the Amoor, before it was open to +Russian navigation. Many who escaped this way lost their lives, but +others reached the seacoast where they were picked up by whalers or +other transient ships. In 1844 three men started for the Ohotsk sea, +traveling by way of the Yablonoi mountains. They had managed to obtain +a rifle, and subsisted upon game they killed, and upon berries, roots, +and the bark of trees. They escaped from the mines about midsummer, +and hoped by rapid travel to reach the coast before winter overtook +them.</p> + +<p>One of the men was killed by falling from a rock during the first +month of the journey. The others buried their dead companion as best +they could, marking his grave with a cross, though with no expectation +it would again be seen by human eyes. Traversing the mountains and +reaching the tributaries of the Aldan river, they found their +hardships commencing. The country was rough and game scarce, so that +the fugitives were exhausted by fatigue and hunger. They traveled for +a time with the wandering Tunguze of this region, and were caught by +the early snows of winter when the coast was still two hundred miles +away. They determined to wait until spring before crossing the +mountains. Unluckily while with the Tunguze they were seen by a +Russian merchant, who informed the authorities. Early in the spring +they were captured and returned to their place of imprisonment.</p> + +<p>The region around the Yablonoi mountains is so desolate that escape in +that direction is almost impossible. By way of the post route to Lake +Baikal it is equally difficult, as the road is carefully watched and +there are few habitations away from the post villages and stations. +No one can travel by post without a padaroshnia, and this can only be +procured at the chief towns and is not issued to an unknown applicant.</p> + +<p>I heard a story of a young Pole who attempted, some years ago, to +escape from exile. He was teacher in a private family and passed his +evenings in gambling. At one time he was very successful at cards, and +gained in a single week three thousand roubles. With this capital he +arranged a plan of escape.</p> + +<p>By some means he procured a padaroshnia, not in his own name, and +announced his intention to visit his friends a few miles away. As he +did not return promptly search was made, and it was found that a +person answering his description had started toward Lake Baikal. +Pursuit naturally turned in that direction, exactly opposite to his +real course of flight. He traveled by post with his padaroshnia and +reached the vicinity of Omsk without difficulty. Very injudiciously he +quarreled with the drivers at a post station about the payment of ten +copecks, which he alleged was an overcharge. The padaroshnia was +examined in consequence of the quarrel and found applicable to a +Russian merchant of the third class, and not for a nobleman, which he +claimed to be.</p> + +<p>The station-master arrested the traveler and sent him to Omsk, when +his real character was ascertained. On the third day of captivity he +bribed his guards and escaped during the night. He remained free more +than a month, but was finally recaptured and sent to Irkutsk.</p> + +<p>At Nerchinsk I resumed my efforts to purchase a tarantass, but my +investigations showed the Nerchinsk market ‘out’ of everything in the +tarantass line and no promise of a new crop. Fortune and Kaporaki +favored me, and found a suitable vehicle that I could borrow for the +journey to Irkutsk. I was to answer for its safety and deliver it to a +designated party on my arrival there.</p> + +<p>The regulations did not permit, or at least encourage, Borasdine to +invest in vehicles. A courier is expected, unless in winter, to travel +by the post carriages. All breakages in that case are at the expense +of government, with the possible exception of the courier’s bones and +head. If a carriage breaks down he takes another and leaves the wreck +for the station men to pick up. If he should buy a tarantass and it +gave out he would be forced to leave it till he came again, or sell it +at any price offered. Nothing that relates to his personal comfort is +allowed to detain a courier. He can stop only for change of team, +hasty meals, and when leaving or taking despatches on his route. +Sometimes a river gets high and refuses to respect his padaroshnia, or +a severe and blinding storm stops all travel. A courier’s pass is +supposed to command everything short of the elements, and I have a +suspicion that some Russians believe it powerful <i>with</i> the elements.</p> + +<p>A courier ought to travel with only his baggage and servant, the +former not exceeding 200 pounds. Borasdine had Cossack and baggage in +proper quantity; adding me and my impedimenta, he was hardly in light +moving order. I suggested that he drop me and I would trust to luck +and my padaroshnia. I had confidence in the good nature of the +Russians and my limited knowledge of the language. I could exhibit my +papers, ask for horses, say I was hungry, and was perfectly confident +I could pay out money as long as it lasted. But my companion replied +that an extra day on the route would make no difference in his +catching the boat to cross Lake Baikal, and we would remain together +until new difficulties arose.</p> + +<p>Having dined we visited the post-station and ordered horses sent to +the house of our host. The servants filled our tarantass with baggage, +while their master filled us with champagne. The vehicle displayed the +best carrying capacity, as it had room for more when our hearts were +too full for utterance, save in a half breathed sigh.</p> + +<p>We rattled out of Kaporaki’s yard and down to the Nertcha, where we +had a ferry-boat like the one at Stratensk, though a little larger. +The horses were detached and remained on the bank until the tarantass +was safely on board. There was not much room for them, but they +managed to find standing places.</p> + +<p>By the time we were over the river it was night, and the sentinel +stars had set their watch in the sky. We found the road an unpleasant +combination of snow, dirt, and water. We had four weak little horses, +and the driver told us they had made one journey to the station and +back again since morning.</p> + +<p>In the Russian posting system the horses carry loads only one way. The +driver takes your vehicle to the station, where he is allowed to rest +himself and horses one hour and then starts on his return. In ordinary +seasons when the traveling is good, each team of horses will make two +round trips in twenty-four hours. This gives them from fifty to +seventy miles daily travel, half of it without load and at a gentle +pace.</p> + +<p>After the third station the road improved, the snow and mud +diminishing and leaving a comparatively dry track. The stations were +generally so uncomfortably hot as to put me in a perspiration, and I +was glad to get out of doors. The temperature was about 70° +Fahrenheit, and the air at night contained odors from the breath and +boots of dormant <i>moujiks</i>. The men sleep on the floor and benches, +but the top of the stove is the favorite couch. The stove is of brick +as already described, and its upper surface is frequently as wide as a +common bed. Sometimes the caloric is a trifle abundant, but I have +rarely known it complained of.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg274-1.gif' id='lg274-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FAVORITE BED.</p></div> + +<p>I could never clearly understand the readiness and ability of the +Russians to endure contrasts of heat and cold with utter complacence +and without apparent ill effect. I have seen a yemshick roused at +midnight from the top of a stove where he was sleeping in a +temperature of eighty-five or ninety degrees. He made his toilet by +tightening his waist-belt and putting on his boots. When the horses +were ready he donned his cap and extra coat, thrust his hands into +mittens, and mounted the front of a sleigh. The cold would be anywhere +from ten to fifty degrees below zero, but the man rarely appeared to +suffer. In severe weather I hesitated to enter the stations on account +of the different temperature of the house and the open air, but the +Russians did not seem to mind the sudden changes.</p> + +<p>All natives of Northern Siberia subject themselves without +inconvenience to extremes of heat and cold. Major Abasa told me that +when the cold was 40° below zero he had found the Koriaks in their +yourts with a temperature 75° above. They passed from one to the other +without a change of clothing and without perspiring. At night they +ordinarily slept in their warm dwellings, but when traveling they +rested in the snow under the open sky. In his exploration around +Penjinsk Gulf the major saw a woman sleep night after night on the +snow in the coldest weather with no covering but the clothing she wore +in the day. She would have slept equally well if transferred to a hot +room.</p> + +<p>The Yakuts and Tunguze are equally hardy. Captain Wrangell gives +examples of their endurance, especially of living in warm rooms or +sleeping on the ice at a low temperature. Captain Cochrane, the +English Pedestrian, had a wonderful experience with some natives that +guided him from the Lena to the Kolyma. Though the Captain was an old +traveler and could support much cold and fatigue, he was greatly +outdone by his guides. He could never easily accommodate himself to +wide extremes of heat and cold, and I believe this is the experience +of nearly all persons not born and reared under a northern sky. The +road from Nerchinsk to Chetah is through an undulating country, the +hills in many places being high enough to merit the name of mountains. +Sometimes we followed the valley of the Ingodah, and again we left it +to wind over the hills and far away where the bluffs prevented our +keeping near the stream. When we looked upon the river from these +mountains the scene was beautiful, and I shall long retain my +impression of the loveliness of the Ingodah. Mr. Collins described +this valley nine years before me, and with one exception I can confirm +all he said of its charms. He had the good fortune to travel in spring +when the flowers were in bloom, whereas my journey was late in autumn. +My English friend at Stratensk spoke of this particular feature of the +country, and described the thick carpet of blossoms that in some +places almost hid the grass from view. To compensate for the long and +dreary winter Nature spreads her floral beauties with lavish hand, and +converts the once ice-bound region into a landscape of beautiful and +fragrant flowers.</p> + +<p>The valley is fertile and well cultivated, villages and farm houses +being frequent. The road was excellent, wide, and well made; much +labor had been expended upon it during the last two years. Its up and +down-ishness was not to my liking, as the horses utterly refused to +gallop in ascending hills a mile or two long. The descent was less +difficult, but unfortunately we could not have it all descent. We had +equal quantities of rising and falling, with the difference against us +that we were ascending the valley. Fortunately the road was dry and in +some places we found it dusty.</p> + +<p>Late in the afternoon we halted for dinner, ordering the samovar +almost before we stopped the tarantass. We ordered eggs and bread, and +in hopes of something substantial Borasdine consulted the mistress of +the house. He returned with disgust pictured on his countenance.</p> + +<p>“Have they anything?” I asked.</p> + +<p>“Nothing.”</p> + +<p>“Nothing at all?”</p> + +<p>“No; nothing but mutton.” Nothing but mutton! <i>I</i> was entirely +reconciled. When it came I made a fine dinner, but he took very little +of it. There are great flocks of sheep belonging to the Bouriats in +Eastern Siberia, and they form the chief support of that people. +Curiously enough the Russians rarely eat mutton, though so abundant +around them. Borasdine told me it seldom appeared on a Siberian table, +and I observed that both nobles and peasants agreed in disliking it. +While at dinner we caught sight of a pretty face and figure, more to +my fellow traveler’s taste than the <i>piece de resistance</i> of our meal.</p> + +<p>After dinner we passed over a hill and entered a level region where we +found plenty of mud. About midnight the yemshick exhibited his skill +by driving into a mudhole where there was solid ground on both sides. +We were hopelessly stuck, and all our cries and utterances were of no +avail. The Cossack and the driver could accomplish nothing, and we +were obliged to descend from the carriage. We required our +subordinates to put their shoulders to the wheels, though the +operation covered them with mud. While they lifted we shouted to the +horses, Borasdine in Russian and I in French and English.</p> + +<p>Twenty minutes of this toil accomplished nothing. Then we unloaded all +our baggage down to the smallest articles. Another effort and we were +still in our slough of despond. I retreated to a neighboring fence and +returned with a stout pole. The Cossack brought another, and we +arranged to lift the fore wheels to somewhere near the surface. It was +my duty to urge the horses, and I flattered myself that I performed +it.</p> + +<p>I had the driver’s whip to assist my utterance; the others lifted, +while I struck and shouted. We had a long pull, a strong pull, and a +pull all together, and pulled out of the depths. I attributed no small +part of the success to the effect of American horse-vocabulary upon +Russian quadrupeds. When we reloaded it was refreshing to observe the +care with which the Cossack had placed our pillows on the wet ground +and piled heavy baggage over them. Borasdine expressed his objection +to this plan in such form that the Cossack was not likely to repeat +the operation.</p> + +<p>The motion of the tarantass, especially its jolting over the rough +parts of the route, gave me a violent headache, the worst I ever +experienced. The journey commenced too abruptly for my system to be +reconciled without complaint. Nearly four months I had been almost +constantly on ships and steamboats, all my land riding in that time +not amounting to thirty miles. I came ashore at Stratensk and began +travel with a Russian courier over Siberian roads at the worst season +of the year. It was like leaving the comforts of a Fifth Avenue parlor +to engage in wood-sawing. At every bound of the vehicle my brain +seemed ready to burst, and I certainly should have halted had we not +intended delaying at Chetah.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg278-1.gif' id='lg278-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CONCENTRATED ENERGIES.</p></div> + +<p>A Russian yemshick centers his whole duty in driving his team. He +gives no thought to the carriage or the persons inside; they must +look out for their own interest. Let him come to a hill, rough or +smooth, rocky or gravelly, provided there be no actual danger, he +descends at his best speed. Sometimes the horses trot, and again they +gallop down a long slope. Near the bottom they set out on a full run, +as if pursued by a pack of hungry wolves. They dash down the hill, +across the hollow, and part way up the opposite ascent without +slacking speed. The carriage leaps, bumps, and rattles, and the +contents, animate or inanimate, are tossed violently. If there is a +log bridge in the hollow the effect is more than electric. The driver +does not even turn his head to regard his passengers. If the carriage +holds together and follows it is all that concerns him.</p> + +<p>At first I was not altogether enamored of this practice. But as I +never suffered actual injury and the carriages endured their rough +treatment, I came in time to like it. As a class the Russian yemshicks +are excellent drivers, and in riding behind more than three hundred of +them I had abundant opportunity to observe their skill. They are not +always intelligent and quick to devise plans in emergencies, but they +are faithful and know the duties of their profession. For speed and +safety I would sooner place myself in their hands than behind +professional drivers in New York. They know the rules of the road, the +strength and speed of their horses, and are almost uniformly good +natured.</p> + +<p>We reached Chetah at five in the morning and roused the inmates of the +only hotel. The sleepy <i>chelavek</i> showed us to a room containing two +chairs, two tables, and a dirty sofa. The Cossack brought our baggage +from the tarantass, and we endeavored to sleep. When we rose Borasdine +went to call upon the governor while I ordered breakfast on my own +account. Summoning the <i>chelavek</i> I began, “<i>Dai samovar, chi, saher e +kleb</i>,” (give the samovar, tea, bread, and sugar.) This accomplished, +I procured beefsteaks and potatoes without difficulty. I spoke the +language of the country in a fragmentary way, but am certain my +Russian was not half as bad as the beefsteak.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXIV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2></div> + + +<p>Chetah stands on the left bank of the Ingodah, nearly three hundred +miles above Stratensk, and is the capital of the Trans-Baikal +province. For many years it was a small town with a few hundred +inhabitants, but the opening of the Amoor in 1854 changed its +character. Below this point the Ingodah is navigable for boats and +rafts, and during the early years of the Amoor occupation much +material was floated down from Chetah. In 1866 its population, +including the garrison, was about five thousand. Many houses were +large and well fitted, and all were of wood. The officers lived +comfortably, but complained of high rents.</p> + +<p>The governor’s mansion is the largest and best, and near it is the +club-house where weekly soirees are held. I attended one of these and +found a pleasant party. There was music and dancing, tea-drinking and +card-playing, gossip and silence at varied and irregular intervals. +Some of the officers read selections from Russian authors, and others +recited pieces of prose and poetry. There were dialogues, evidently +humorous to judge by the mirth they produced, and there was a paper +containing original contributions. The association appeared +prosperous, and I was told that its literary features were largely due +to the efforts of the governor.</p> + +<p>There is a <i>gastinni-dvor</i> or row of shops and a market-place +surrounded with huckster’s stalls, much like those near Fulton Ferry. +Desiring to replace a broken watch-key I found a repair shop and +endeavored to make my inquiries in Russian. “<i>Monsieur parle le +Francais, je crois</i>,” was the response to my attempt, and greatly +facilitated the transaction of business. Before I left New York an +acquaintance showed me a photograph of a Siberian, who proved to be +the watchmaker thus encountered.</p> + +<p>Walking about the streets I saw many prisoners at work under guard, +most of them wearing fetters. Though I became accustomed during my +Siberian travels to the sight of chains on men, I could never hear +their clanking without a shudder. The chains worn by a prisoner were +attached at one end to bands enclosing his ankles and at the other to +a belt around his waist. The sound of these chains as the men walked +about was one of the most disagreeable I ever heard, and I was glad to +observe that the Russians did not appear to admire it. The prisoners +at Chetah were laboring on the streets, preparing logs for +house-building, or erecting fences. Most of the working parties were +under guard, but the overseers did not appear to push them severely. +Some were taking it very leisurely and moved as if endeavoring to do +as little as possible in their hours of work. I was told that they +were employed on the eight hour system. Their dress was coarse and +rough, like that of the peasants, but had no marks to show that its +wearer was a prisoner.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg281-1.gif' id='lg281-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>PRISONERS AT CHETAH.</p></div> + +<p>There were between three and four thousand prisoners in the province +of the Trans-Baikal. About one-sixth of them were at Chetah and in +its vicinity. The prisoners were of two classes—political and +criminal—and their punishment varied according to their offence. Some +were sentenced to labor in chains, and others to labor without chains. +Some could not go out without a guard, while others had more freedom. +Some were sentenced to work in prison and others were imprisoned +without labor. Some were exiled to Siberia but enjoyed the liberty of +a province, a particular district, or a designated town or village. +Some were allowed a certain amount of rations and others supported +themselves. In fact there were all grades of prisoners, just as we +have all grades in our penitentiaries.</p> + +<p>The Polish revolution in 1863 sent many exiles to the country east of +Lake Baikal. Among the prisoners at the time of my journey there was a +Colonel Zyklinski confined in prison at a village north of Chetah. He +had a prominent part in the Polish troubles, and was captured at the +surrender of the armies. He served in America under M’Clellan during +the Peninsular campaign, and was in regular receipt of a pension from +our government.</p> + +<p>The Trans-Baikal Province is governed by Major General Ditmar, to whom +I brought letters of introduction. When Borasdine returned from his +visit he brought invitation to transfer our quarters to the +gubernatorial mansion, where we went and met the governor. I found him +an agreeable gentleman, speaking French fluently, and regretting the +absence of Madame Ditmar, in whose praise many persons had spoken. At +dinner I met about twenty persons, of whom more than half spoke French +and two or three English.</p> + +<p>A military band occupied the gallery over the dining-room. When +General Ditmar proposed “the United States of America,” my ears were +greeted with one of our national airs. It was well played, and when I +said so they told me its history. On hearing of my arrival the +governor summoned his chief musician and asked if he knew any American +music. The reply was in the negative. The governor then sent the +band-master to search his books. He soon returned, saying he had +found the notes of “Hail Columbia.”</p> + +<p>“Is that the only American tune you have?” asked the general.</p> + +<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> + +<p>“Have your band learn to play it by dinner time.”</p> + +<p>The order was obeyed, and the American music accompanied the first +regular toast. It was repeated at the club-rooms and on two or three +other occasions during my stay in Chetah, and though learned so +hastily it was performed as well as by any ordinary band in our army.</p> + +<p>The principal rooms in General Ditmar’s house had a profusion of green +plants in pots and tubs of different sizes. One apartment in +particular seemed more like a greenhouse than a room where people +dwelt. Whether so much vegetation in the houses affects the health of +the people I am unable to say, but I could not ascertain that it did. +The custom of cultivating plants in the dwellings prevails through +Siberia, especially in the towns. I frequently found bushes like small +trees growing in tubs, and I have in mind several houses where the +plants formed a continuous line half around the walls of the principal +rooms. The devotion to floriculture among the Siberians has its chief +impulse in the long winters, when there is no out-door vegetation +visible beyond that of the coniferous trees. I can testify that a +dwelling-which one enters on a cold day in midwinter appears doubly +cheerful when the eye rests upon a luxuriance of verdure and flowers. +Winter seems defeated in his effort to establish universal sway.</p> + +<p>The winters in this region are long and cold, though very little snow +falls. Around Chetah and in most of the Trans-Baikal province there is +not snow enough for good sleighing, and the winter roads generally +follow the frozen rivers. Horses, cattle, and sheep subsist on the +dead and dry grass from October to April, but they do not fare +sumptuously every day.</p> + +<p>North and south of the head-waters of the Ingodah and Orion there are +mountain ranges, having a general direction east and west. Away to the +north the Polar sea and the lakes and rivers near it supply the rain +and snow-clouds. As they sweep toward the south these clouds hourly +become less and their last drops are wrung from them as they strike +the slopes of the mountains and settle about their crests. The winter +clouds from the Indian Ocean and Caspian Sea rarely pass the desert of +Gobi, and thus the country of the Trans-Baikal has a climate peculiar +to itself.</p> + +<p>During my stay at Chetah a party was organized to hunt gazelles. There +were ten or fifteen officers and about twenty Cossacks, as at +Blagoveshchensk. Up to the day of the excursion the weather was +delightful, but it suddenly changed to a cloudy sky, a high wind, and +a freezing temperature. The scene of action was a range of hills five +or six miles from town. We went there in carriages and wagons and on +horseback, and as we shivered around a fire built by the Cossacks near +an open work cabin, we had little appearance of a pleasure party.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg284-1.gif' id='lg284-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>ON THE HILLS NEAR CHETAH.</p></div> + +<p>The first drive resulted in the death of two rabbits and the serious +disability of a third. One halted within twenty steps of me and +received the contents of my gun-barrel. I reloaded while he lay +kicking, and just as I returned the ramrod to its place the beast +rose and ran into the thick bushes. I hope he recovered and will live +many years. He seemed gifted with a strong constitution, and I heard +several stories of the tenacity of life displayed by his kindred.</p> + +<p>The rabbit or hare (<i>lepus variabilis</i>) abounds in the valley of the +Amoor and generally throughout Siberia. He is much larger than the New +England rabbit I hunted in my boyhood, and smaller than the long-eared +rabbit of the Rocky Mountains and California. He is grey or brown in +summer and white in winter, his color changing as cold weather begins. +No snow had fallen at Chetah, but the rabbits were white as chalk and +easily seen if not easily killed. The peasants think the rabbit a +species of cat and refuse to eat his flesh, but the upper classes have +no such scruples. I found him excellent in a roast or stew and +admirably adapted to destroying appetites. Our day’s hunt brought us +one gazelle, six rabbits, one lunch, several drinks, and one smashed +wagon.</p> + +<p>I saw at Chetah a chess board in a box ten inches square with a +miniature tree six inches high on its cover. The figure of a man in +chains leaning upon a spade near a wheelbarrow, stood under the tree. +The expression of the face, the details of the clothing, the links of +the chains, the limbs of the tree, and even the roughness of its bark, +were carefully represented. It was the work of a Polish exile, who was +then engaged upon something more elaborate. Chessmen, tree, barrow, +chains, and all, were made from black bread! The man took part of his +daily allowance, moistened it with water, and kneaded it between his +fingers till it was soft like putty. In this condition he fashioned it +to the desired shape.</p> + +<p>When I called upon the watchmaker he told me of an American recently +arrived from Kiachta. Two hours later while writing in my room I heard +a rap at my door. On opening I found a man who asked in a bewildered +air, “<i>Amerikansky doma?</i>”</p> + +<p>“<i>Dah</i>,” I responded.</p> + +<p>“<i>Parlez vous Francais</i>?” was his next question. “<i>Oui, Monsieur, +Francais ou Anglais</i>.”</p> + +<p>“Then you are the man I want to find. How do you do?”</p> + +<p>It was the American, who had come in search of me. He told me he was +born in England and was once a naturalized citizen of the United +States. He had lived in New York and Chicago, crossed the Plains in +1850, and passed through all the excitements of the Pacific coast, +finishing and being finished at Frazer’s River. After that he went to +China and accompanied a French merchant from Shanghae across the +Mongolian steppes to Kiachta. He arrived in Chetah a month before my +visit, and was just opening a stock of goods to trade with the +natives.</p> + +<p>He was about to begin matrimonial life with a French lady whose +acquaintance he made in Kiachta. He had sent for a Catholic priest to +solemnize the marriage, as neither of the high contracting parties +belonged to the Russian church. The priest was then among the exiles +at Nerchinsk Zavod, three hundred miles away, and his arrival at +Chetah was anxiously looked for by others than my new acquaintance. +The Poles being Catholics have their own priests to attend them and +minister to their spiritual wants. Some of these priests are exiles +and others voluntary emigrants, who went to Siberia to do good. The +exiled priests are generally permitted to go where they please, but I +presume a sharp watch is kept over their actions. When there is a +sufficient number of Poles they have churches of their own and use +exclusively the Romish service.</p> + +<p>The Germans settled in Russia, as well as Russians of German descent, +usually adhere to the Lutheran faith. The Siberian peasants almost +invariably speak of a Lutheran church as a ‘German’ one, and in like +manner apply the name ‘Polish’ to Catholic churches. The government +permits all religious denominations in Siberia to worship God in their +own way, and makes no interference with spiritual leaders. Minor sects +corresponding to Free Lovers, Shakers, and bodies of similar +character, are not as liberally treated as the followers of any +recognized Christian faith. Of course the influence of the government +is for the Greek Church, but it allows no oppression of Catholics and +Lutherans. So far as I could observe, the Greek Church in Siberia and +the Established Church in England occupy nearly similar positions +toward dissenting denominations.</p> + +<p>Three days after my arrival General Ditmar started for Irkutsk, +preceded a few hours by my late traveling companion. In the afternoon +following the general’s departure I witnessed an artillery parade and +drill, the men being Cossacks of the Trans-Baikal province. The +battery was a mounted one of six guns, and I was told the horses were +brought the day before from their summer pastures. The affair was +creditable to officers and men, the various evolutions being well and +rapidly performed. The guns were whirled about the field, unlimbered, +fired, dismounted, and passed through all the manipulations known to +artillerists.</p> + +<p>At the close of the review the commanding officer thanked his men and +praised their skill. He received the response, simultaneously spoken, +“We are happy to please you,” or words of like meaning. At every +parade, whether regular or Cossack, this little ceremony is observed. +As the men marched from the field to their quarters they sang one of +their native airs. These Cossacks meet at stated intervals for drill +and discipline, and remain the balance of the time at their homes. The +infantry and cavalry are subject to the same regulation, and the +musters are so arranged that some part of the Cossack force is always +under arms.</p> + +<p>After the review I dined with a party of eighteen or twenty officers +at the invitation of Captain Erifayeff of the governor’s staff. The +dinner was given in the house where my host and his friend, Captain +Pantoukin, lived, <i>en garcon</i>. The Emperor of Russia and the President +of the United States were duly remembered, and the toasts in their +honor were greeted with appropriate music. In conversation after +dinner, I found all the officers anxious to be informed concerning the +United States. The organization of our army, the relations of our +people after the war, our mode of life, manners, and customs, were +subjects of repeated inquiry.</p> + +<p>On the morning of the 26th October, Captain Molostoff, who was to be +my companion, announced his readiness to depart. I made my farewell +calls, and we packed our baggage into my tarantass, with the exception +of the terrible trunk that adhered to me like a shadow. As we had no +Cossack and traveled without a servant, there was room for the +unwieldy article on the seat beside the driver. I earnestly advise +every tourist in Siberia not to travel with a trunk. The Siberian +ladies manage to transport all the articles for an elaborate toilet +without employing a single ‘dog house’ or ‘Saratoga.’ If they can do +without trunks, of what should not man be capable?</p> + +<p>Our leave-taking consumed much time and champagne, and it was nearly +sunset before we left Chetah. It is the general custom in Siberia to +commence journeys in the afternoon or evening, the latter extending +anywhere up to daybreak. As one expects to travel night and day until +reaching his destination, his hour of starting is of no consequence. +Just before leaving he is occupied in making farewell calls, and is +generally ‘seen off’ by his friends. In the evening he has no warm bed +to leave, no hasty toilet to make, and no disturbed household around +him. With a vehicle properly arranged he can settle among his furs and +pillows and is pretty likely to fall asleep before riding many miles. +I was never reconciled to commencing a journey early in the morning, +with broken sleep, clothing half arranged, and a ‘picked-up’ breakfast +without time to swallow it leisurely.</p> + +<p>On leaving Chetah we crossed a frozen stream tributary to the Ingodah, +and proceeded rapidly over an excellent road. We met several carts, +one-horse affairs on two wheels, laden with hay for the Chetah market. +One man generally controlled three or four carts, the horses +proceeding in single file. The country was more open than on the other +side of Chetah, and the road had suffered little in the rains and +succeeding cold. For some distance we rode near two lines of +telegraph; one was a temporary affair erected during the insurrection +of 1866, while the other was the permanent line designed to connect +America with Europe by way of Bering’s Straits. The poles used for +this telegraph are large and firmly set, and give the line an +appearance of durability.</p> + +<p>The Captain was fond of dogs and had an English pointer in his +baggage. During the day the animal ran near the carriage, and at night +slept at his master’s feet. He was well inclined toward me after we +were introduced, and before the journey ended he became my personal +friend. He had an objectionable habit of entering the tarantass just +before me and standing in the way until I was seated. Sometimes when +left alone in the carriage he would not permit the yemshicks to attach +the horses. On two or three occasions of this kind the Captain was +obliged to suspend his tea-drinking and go to pacify his dog. Once as +a yemshick was mounting the box of the tarantass, ‘Boika’ jumped at +his face and very nearly secured an attachment to a large and ruddy +nose. Spite of his eccentricities, he was a good dog and secured the +admiration of those he did not attempt to bite.</p> + +<p>We passed the Yablonoi mountains by a road far from difficult. Had I +not been informed of the fact I could have hardly suspected we were in +a mountain range. The Yablonoi chain forms the dividing ridge between +the head streams of the Amoor and the rivers that flow to the Arctic +Ocean.</p> + +<p>On the south we left a little brook winding to reach the Ingodah, and +two hours later crossed the Ouda, which joins the Selenga at Verkne +Udinsk. The two streams flow in opposite directions. One threads its +way to the eastward, where it assists in forming the Amoor; the other +through the Selenga, Lake Baikal, and the Yenesei, is finally +swallowed up among the icebergs and perpetual snows of the far north.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>“One to long darkness and the frozen tide;<br /></span> +<span> One to the Peaceful Sea.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /> +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXV.</h2></div> + + +<p>Beyond the mountains the cold increased, the country was slightly +covered with snow, and the lakes were frozen over. In the mountain +region there is a forest of pines and birches, but farther along much +of the country is flat and destitute of timber. Where the road was +good our tarantass rolled along very well, and the cold, though +considerable, was not uncomfortable. I found the chief inconvenience +was, that the moisture in my breath congealed on my beard and the fur +clothing near it. Two or three times beard and fur were frozen +together, and it was not always easy to separate them.</p> + +<p>From the Yablonoi mountains to Verkne Udinsk there are very few houses +between the villages that form the posting stations. The principal +inhabitants are Bouriats, a people of Mongol descent who were +conquered by Genghis Khan in the thirteenth century and made a +respectable fight against the Russians in the seventeenth. Since their +subjugation they have led a peaceful life and appear to have forgotten +all warlike propensities. Their features are essentially Mongolian, +and their manners and customs no less so.</p> + +<p>Some of them live in houses after the Russian manner, but the yourt is +the favorite habitation. The Bouriats cling to the manners of their +race, and even when settled in villages are unwilling to live in +houses. At the first of their villages after we passed the mountains I +took opportunity to visit a yourt. It was a tent with a light frame of +trellis work covered with thick felt, and I estimated its diameter at +fifteen or eighteen feet. In the center the frame work has no +covering, in order to give the smoke free passage. A fire, sometimes +of wood and sometimes of dried cow-dung, burns in the middle of the +yourt during the day and is covered up at night. I think the tent was +not more than five and a half feet high. There was no place inside +where I could stand erect. The door is of several thicknesses of +stitched and quilted felt, and hangs like a curtain over the entrance.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg291-1.gif' id='lg291-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>BOURIAT YOURTS.</p></div> + +<p>The eyes of the Bouriats were nearly always red, a circumstance +explainable by the smoke that fills their habitations and in which +they appear to enjoy themselves. In sleeping they spread mats and +skins on the ground and pack very closely. Two or three times at the +stations in the middle of the night I approached their dwellings and +listened to the nasal chorus within. Tho people are early risers, if I +may judge by the hours when I used to find them out of floors.</p> + +<p>As to furniture, they have mats and skins to sit upon by day and +convert into beds at night. There are few or no tables, and little +crockery or other household comforts. They have pots for boiling meat +and heating water, and a few jugs, bottles, and basins for holding +milk and other liquids. A wooden box contains the valuable clothing of +the family, and there are two or three bags for miscellaneous use. In +the first yourt I entered I found an altar that was doubtless hollow +and utilized as a place of storage. A few small cups containing grain, +oil, and other offerings were placed on this altar, and I was careful +not to disturb them.</p> + +<p>Their religion is Bhudistic, and they have their lamas, who possess a +certain amount of sanctity from the Grand Lama of Thibet. The lamas +are numerous and their sacred character does not relieve or deprive +them of terrestrial labor and trouble. Many of the lamas engage in the +same pursuits as their followers, and are only relieved from toil to +exercise the duties of their positions. They perform the functions of +priest, physician, detective officer, and judge, and are supposed to +have control over souls and bodies, to direct the one and heal the +other. Man, woman, child, or animal falling sick the lama is summoned. +Thanks to the fears and superstitions of native thieves he can +generally find and restore stolen articles, and has the power to +inflict punishment.</p> + +<p>The Russian priests have made very few converts among the Bouriats, +though laboring zealously ever since the conquest of Siberia. In 1680 +a monastery was founded at Troitsk for the especial purpose of +converting the natives. The number who have been baptized is very +small, and most of them are still pagans at heart. Two English +missionaries lived a long time at Selenginsk, but though earnest and +hard working I am told they never obtained a single proselyte.</p> + +<p>It is a curious fact in the history of the Bouriats that Shamanism was +almost universal among them two hundred years ago; practically it +differed little from that of the natives on the Amoor. Toward the end +of the seventeenth century a mission went from Siberia to Thibet, and +its members returned as lamas and bringing the paraphernalia of the +new religion which they at once declared to their people. The +Bhudistic faith was thus founded and spread over the country until +Shamanism was gradually superseded. Traces of the old superstition are +still visible in certain parts of the lama worship.</p> + +<p>Most of their religious property, such as robes, idols, cups, bells, +and other necessaries for the Bhudhist service come from Thibet. A +Russian gentleman gave me a bell decorated with holy inscriptions and +possessing a remarkably fine tone. Its handle was the bust and crown +of a Bhudhist idol, and the bell was designed for use in religious +services; it was to be touched only by a disciple of the true faith, +and its possession prophesied good fortune. Since my return to America +it occupied a temporary place on the dining-table of a New England +clergyman.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm293-1.gif' id='sm293-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A MONGOL BELL.</p></div> + +<p>The Bouriats manufacture very few articles for their own use; they +sell their sheep to the Russians, and buy whatever they desire. Their +dress is partly Mongol and partly Russian, the inconvenient portions +of the Chinese costume being generally rejected. Their caps were +mostly conical in shape, made of quilted cloth and ornamented with a +silken tassel attached to the apex. Their trowsers had a Chinese +appearance, but their coats were generally of sheepskin, after the +Russian model. Their waist-belts were decorated with bits of steel or +brass. They shave the head and wear the hair in a queue like the +Chinese, but are not careful to keep it closely trimmed. A few are +half Mongol and half Russian, caused no doubt by their owners being +born and reared under Muscovite protection. I saw many pleasing and +intelligent countenances, but few that were pretty according to +Western notions. There is a famous Bouriat beauty of whose charms I +heard much and was anxious to gaze upon. Unfortunately it was two +o’clock in the morning when we reached the station where she lived. +The unfashionable hour and a big dog combined to prevent my visiting +her abode.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg294-1.gif' id='lg294-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A MONGOL BELLE.</p></div> + +<p>From the mountains to Verkne Udinsk most of our drivers were Bouriats. +They were quite as skillful and daring as the Russian yemshicks, and +took us at excellent speed where the road was good. The +station-masters were Russian, but frequently all their employees were +of Mongol blood. Some part of the carriage gave way on the road, and +it was necessary to repair it at a station. A Bouriat man-of-all-work +undertook the job and performed it very well. While waiting for the +repairs I saw some good specimens of iron work from the hands of +native blacksmiths. The Bouriats engage in very little agriculture. +Properly they are herdsmen, and keep large droves of cattle, horses, +and sheep, the latter being most numerous. I saw many of their flocks +near the road we traveled or feeding on distant parts of the plain. +The country was open and slightly rolling, timber being scarce and the +soil more or less stony. Each flock of sheep was tended by one or more +herdsmen armed with poles like rake-handles, and attached to each pole +was a short rope with a noose at the end. This implement is used in +catching sheep, and the Bouriats are very skillful in handling it. I +saw one select a sheep which became separated from the flock before he +secured it. The animal while pursued attempted to double on his track. +As he turned the man swung his pole and caught the head of the sheep +in his noose. It reminded me of lasso throwing in Mexico and +California.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg295-1.gif' id='lg295-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CATCHING SHEEP.</p></div> + +<p>In looking at these flocks I remembered a conundrum containing the +inquiry, “Why do white sheep eat more hay than black ones?” The answer +was, “Because there are more of them.” In Siberia the question and its +reply would be incorrect, as the white sheep are in the minority. In +this the sheep of Siberia differ materially from those I ever saw in +any other country. The flocks presented a great variety of colors, or +rather, many combinations of white and black. Their appearance to an +American eye was a very peculiar and novel one.</p> + +<p>At one station a beggar crouched on the ground near the door asked +alms as we passed him. I threw him a small coin, which he acknowledged +by thrice bowing his head and touching the earth. I trust this mode of +acknowledging courtesy will never be introduced in my own country.</p> + +<p>We frequently met or passed small trains of two-wheeled carts, some +laden with merchandise and others carrying Bouriat or Russian +families. Most of these carts were drawn by bullocks harnessed like +horses between shafts. Occasionally I saw bullocks saddled and ridden +as we ride horses, though not quite as rapidly. A few carts had roofs +of birch bark to shield their occupants from the rain; from +appearances I judged these carts belonged to emigrants on their way to +the Amoor.</p> + +<p>At the crossing of a small river we found the water full of floating +ice that drifted in large cakes. There was much fixed ice at both +edges and we waited an hour to have it cut away. When the smotretal +announced that all was ready we proceeded to the river and found it +anything but inviting. The Bouriat yemshick pronounced it safe, and as +he was a responsible party we deferred to his judgment. While we +waited a girl rode a horse through the stream without hesitation.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg296-1.gif' id='lg296-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A COLD BATH.</p></div> + +<p>We had four horses harnessed abreast and guided by the yemshick. Two +others were temporarily attached ahead under control of a Bouriat. As +we drove into the river the horses shrank from the cold water and ice +that came against their sides. One slipped and fell, but was soon up +again. The current drifted us with it and I thought for a moment we +were badly caught. The drivers whipped and shouted so effectively that +we reached the other side without accident.</p> + +<p>On the second evening we had a drunken yemshick who lost the road +several times and once drove us into a clump of bushes. As a partial +excuse the night was so dark that one could not see ten feet ahead. +About two o’clock in the morning we reached the station nearest to +Verkne Udinsk. Here was a dilemma. Captain Molostoff had business at +Verkne Udinsk which he could not transact before nine or ten in the +morning. There was no decent hotel, and if we pushed forward we should +arrive long before the Russian hour for rising. We debated the +question over a steaming samovar and decided to remain at the station +till morning. By starting after daylight we might hope to find the +town awake.</p> + +<p>The travelers’ room at the station was clean and well furnished, but +heated to a high temperature. The captain made his bed on a sofa, but +I preferred the tarantass where the air was cool and pure. I arranged +my furs, fastened the boot and hood of the carriage, and slept +comfortably in a keen wind. At daylight the yemshicks attached horses +and called the captain from the house. He complained that he slept +little owing to the heat. Boika was in bad humor and opened the day by +tearing the coat of one man and being kicked by another.</p> + +<p>The ground was rougher and better wooded as we came near the junction +of the Ouda and Selenga, and I could see evidences of a denser +population. On reaching the town we drove to the house of Mr. +Pantoukin, a brother of an officer I met at Chetah. The gentleman was +not at home and we were received by his friend Captain Sideroff. After +talking a moment in Russian with Captain Molostoff, our new +acquaintance addressed me in excellent English and inquired after +several persons at San Francisco. He had been there four times with +the Russian fleet, and appeared to know the city very well.</p> + +<p>Verkne Udinsk is at the junction of the Ouda and Selenga rivers, three +hundred versts from Irkutsk and four hundred and fifty from Chetah. It +presents a pretty appearance when approached from the east, when its +largest and best buildings first catch the eye. It has a church nearly +two hundred years old, built with immensely thick walls to resist +occasional earthquakes. A large crack was visible in the wall of a +newer church, and repairs were in progress.</p> + +<p>In its earlier days the town had an important commerce, which has been +taken away by Irkutsk and Kiachta. It has a few wealthy merchants, who +have built fine houses on the principal street. I walked through the +<i>gastinni-dvor</i> but found nothing I desired to purchase. There were +many little articles of household use but none of great value. Coats +of deerskin were abundant, and the market seemed freshly supplied with +them. My costume was an object of curiosity to the hucksters and their +customers, especially in the item of boots. The Russian boots are +round-toed and narrow. I wore a pair in the American fashion of the +previous year and quite different from the Muscovite style. There were +frequent touches of elbows and deflections of eyes attracting +attention to my feet.</p> + +<p>A large building overlooking the town was designated as the jail, and +said to be rapidly filling for winter. “There are many vagabonds in +this part of the country,” said my informant. “In summer they live by +begging and stealing. At the approach of winter they come to the +prisons to be housed and fed during the cold season. They are +generally compelled to work, and this fact causes them to leave as +early as possible in the spring. Had your journey been in midsummer +you would have seen many of these fellows along the road.”</p> + +<p>While speaking of this subject my friend told me there was then in +prison at Verkne Udinsk a man charged with robbery. When taken he made +desperate resistance, and for a long time afterward was sullen and +obstinate. Recently he confessed some of his crimes. He was a robber +by profession and acknowledged to seventeen murders during the last +three years! Once he killed four persons in a single family, leaving +only a child too young to testify against him. The people he attacked +were generally merchants with money in their possession. Robberies are +not frequent in Siberia, though a traveler hears many stories designed +to alarm the timorous. I was told of a party of three persons attacked +in a lonely place at night. They were carrying gold from the mines to +the smelting works, and though well armed were so set upon that the +three were killed without injury to the robbers.</p> + +<p>I was not solicitous about my safety as officers were seldom molested, +and as I traveled with a member of the governor’s staff I was pretty +well guarded. Officers rarely carry more than enough money for their +traveling expenses, and they are better skilled than merchants in +handling fire arms and defending themselves. Besides, their +molestation would be more certainly detected and punished than that of +a merchant or chance traveler.</p> + +<p>My tarantass had not been materially injured in the journey, but +several screws were loose and there was an air of general debility +about it. Like the deacon’s one-horse shay in its eightieth year, the +vehicle was not broken but had traces of age about it. As there was +considerable rough road before me I thought it advisable to put +everything in order, and therefore committed the carriage to a +blacksmith. He labored all day and most of the night putting in bolts, +nuts, screws, and bits of iron in different localities, and astonished +me by demanding less than half I expected to pay, and still more by +his guilty manner, as if ashamed at charging double.</p> + +<p>The iron used in repairing my carriage came from Petrovsky Zavod, +about a hundred miles southeast of Verkne Udinsk. The iron works were +established during the reign of Peter the Great, and until quite +recently were mostly worked by convicts. There is plenty of mineral +coal in the vicinity, but wood is so cheap and abundant that charcoal +is principally used in smelting. I saw a specimen of the Petrovsky +ore, which appeared very good. The machine shops of these works are +quite extensive and well supplied. The engines for the early steamers +on the Amoor were built there by Russian workmen.</p> + +<p>There are several private mining enterprises in the region around +Yerkne Udinsk. Most of them have gold as their object, and I heard of +two or three lead mines.</p> + +<p>During the night of my stay at this town Captain Sideroff insisted so +earnestly upon giving up his bed that politeness compelled me to +accept it. My blankets and furs on the floor would have been better +suited to my traveling life especially as the captain’s bed was +shorter than his guest. I think travelers will agree with me in +denouncing the use of beds and warm rooms while a journey is in +progress. They weaken the system and unfit it for the roughness of the +road. While halting at night the floor or a hard sofa is preferable to +a soft bed. The journey ended, the reign of luxuries can begin.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_300'></a> +<img src="images/sm300-1.gif" id='sm300-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXVI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2></div> + + +<p>When we left Verkne Udinsk we crossed the Selenga before passing the +municipal limits. Our ferry-boat was like the one at Stratensk, and +had barely room on its platform for our tarantass. A priest and an +officer who were passengers on the steamer from Blagoveshchensk +arrived while we were getting on board the ferry-boat. They had been +greatly delayed on the way from Stratensk, and waited two days to +cross the Nercha.</p> + +<p>The Selenga was full of ice, some cakes being larger than the platform +of our boat. The temperature of the air was far below freezing, and it +was expected the river would close in a day or two. It might shut +while we were crossing and confine us on the wretched flat-boat ten or +twelve hours, until it would be safe to walk ashore. However, it was +not my craft, and as there were six or eight Russians all in the same +boat with me, I did not borrow trouble.</p> + +<p>The ice-cakes ground unpleasantly against each other and had things +pretty much their own way. One of them grated rather roughly upon our +sides. I do not know there was any danger, but I certainly thought I +had seen places of greater safety than that. When we were in the worst +part of the stream two of the ferrymen rested their poles and began +crossing themselves. I could have excused them had they postponed this +service until we landed on the opposite bank or were stuck fast in the +ice. The Russian peasants are more dependant on the powers above than +were even the old Puritans. The former abandon efforts in critical +moments and take to making the sign of the cross. The Puritans +trusted in God, but were careful to keep their powder dry.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg302-1.gif' id='lg302-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>OUR FERRY BOAT.</p></div> + +<p>A wide sand bank where we landed was covered with smooth ice, and I +picked my way over it much like a cat exercising on a mirror. The +tarantass was pushed ashore, and as soon as the horses were attached a +rapid run took them up the bank to the station.</p> + +<p>A temporary track led across a meadow that furnished a great deal of +jolting to the mile. Eight versts from Verkne Udinsk the road divides, +one branch going to Kiachta and the other to Lake Baikal and Irkutsk. +A pleasing feature of the route was the well-built telegraph line, in +working order to St. Petersburg. It seemed to shorten the distance +between me and home when I knew that the electric current had a +continuous way to America. Puck would put a girdle round the earth in +forty minutes. From China to California, more than half the circuit of +the globe, we can flash a signal in a second of time, and gain by the +hands of the clock more than fourteen hours.</p> + +<p>From the point of divergence the road to Kiachta ascends the valley of +the Selenga, while that to Irkutsk descends the left bank of the +stream. I found the Kiachta route rougher than any part of the way +from Chetah to Verkne Udinsk, and as the yemshick took us at a +rattling pace we were pretty thoroughly shaken up.</p> + +<p>At the second station we had a dinner of <i>stchee</i>, or cabbage soup, +with bread and the caviar of the Selenga. This caviar is of a golden +color and made from the roe of a small fish that ascends from Lake +Baikal. It is not as well liked as the caviar of the Volga and Amoor, +the egg being less rich than that of the sturgeon, though about the +same size. If I may judge from what I saw, there is less care taken in +its preparation than in that of the Volga.</p> + +<p>The road ascended the Selenga, but the valley was so wide and we kept +so near its edge that the river was not often visible. The valley is +well peopled and yields finely to the agriculturalist. Some of the +farms appeared quite prosperous and their owners well-to-do in the +world. The general appearance was not unlike that of some parts of the +Wabash country, or perhaps better still, the region around Marysville, +Kansas. Russian agriculture does not exhibit the care and economy of +our states where land is expensive. There is such abundance of soil in +Siberia that every farmer can have all he desires to cultivate. Many +farms along the Selenga had a ‘straggling’ appearance, as if too large +for their owners. <i>Per contra</i>, I saw many neat and well managed +homesteads, with clean and comfortable dwellings.</p> + +<p>With better implements of husbandry and a more thorough working of the +soil, the peasants along the Selenga would find agriculture a sure +road to wealth. Under the present system of cultivation the valley is +pleasing to the eye of a traveler who views it with reference to its +practical value. There were flocks of sheep, droves of cattle and +horses, and stacks of hay and grain; everybody was apparently well fed +and the houses were attractive. We had good horses, good drivers, and +generally good roads for the first hundred versts. Sometimes we left +the Selenga, but kept generally parallel to its course. The mountains +beyond the valley were lofty and clearly defined. Frequently they +presented striking and beautiful scenery, and had I been a skillful +artist they would have tempted me to sketch them.</p> + +<p>The night came upon us cold and with a strong wind blowing from the +north. We wrapped ourselves closely and were quite comfortable, the +dog actually lolling beneath our sheepskin coverlid. Approaching +Selenginsk we found a few bits of bad road and met long caravans laden +with tea for Irkutsk.</p> + +<p>These caravans were made up of little two-wheeled carts, each drawn by +a single horse. From six to ten chests of tea, according to the +condition of the roads, are piled on each cart and firmly bound with +cords. There is one driver to every four or five carts, and this +driver has a dormitory on one of his loads. This is a rude frame two +and a half by six feet, with sides about seven inches high. With a +sheepskin coat and coverlid a man contrives to sleep in this box while +his team moves slowly along the road or is feeding at a halting place.</p> + +<p>All the freight between Kiachta and Lake Baikal is carried on carts in +summer and on one-horse sleds in winter. From Kiachta westward tea is +almost the only article of transport, the quantity sometimes amounting +to a million chests per annum. The tea chests are covered with raw +hide, which protects them, from rain and snow and from the many thumps +of their journey. The teams belong to peasants, who carry freight for +a stipulated sum per pood. The charges are lower in winter than in +summer, as the sledge is of easier draft than the cart.</p> + +<p>The caravans travel sixteen hours of every twenty-four, and rarely +proceed faster than a walk. The drivers are frequently asleep and +allow the horses to take their own pace. The caravans are expected to +give up the whole road on the approach of a post carriage, and when +the drivers are awake they generally obey the regulation. Very often +it happened that the foremost horses turned aside of their own accord +as we approached. They heard the bells that denoted our character, +and were aware of our yemshick’s right to strike them if they +neglected their duty. The sleeping drivers and delinquent horses +frequently received touches of the lash. There was little trouble by +day, but at night the caravan horses were less mindful of our comfort. +Especially if the road was bad and narrow the post vehicles, contrary +to regulation, were obliged to give way.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg305-1.gif' id='lg305-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>EQUAL RIGHTS.</p></div> + +<p>It was three or four hours before daylight when we reached Selenginsk, +and the yemshick removed his horses preparatory to returning to his +station. I believe Selenginsk is older than Verkne Udinsk, and very +much the senior of Irkutsk. The ancient town is on the site of the +original settlement, but frequent inundations caused its abandonment +for the other bank of the river, five versts away. New Selenginsk, +which has a great deal of antiquity in its appearance, is a small town +with a few good houses, a well built church, and commodious barracks.</p> + +<p>During the troubles between China and Russia concerning the early +occupation of the Amoor and encroachments on the Celestial frontier, +Selenginsk was an important spot. It was often threatened by the +Chinese, and sustained a siege in 1687. A convention was held there in +1727, and some provisions of the treaty then concluded are still in +force. Mr. Bestoujeff, one of the exiles of 1825, was living at +Selenginsk at the time of my visit. There were two brothers of this +name concerned in the insurrection, and at the expiration of their +sentences to labor they were settled at this place. Subsequently they +were joined by three sisters, who sacrificed all their prospects in +life to meet their brothers in Siberia. The family was permitted to +return to Europe when the present emperor ascended the throne, but +having been so long absent the permission was never accepted.</p> + +<p>The river was full of floating ice and could not be crossed in the +night, and we ordered horses so that we might reach the bank at dawn. +Both banks of the river were crowded with carts, some laden and others +empty. A government officer has preference over dead loads of +merchandise, and so we were taken in charge without delay. To prevent +accidents the horses were detached, and the carriage pushed on the +ferry-boat by men. The tamed unfiery steeds followed us with some +reluctance, and shivered in the breeze during the voyage. We remained +in the tarantass through the whole transaction. The ice ran in the +river as at Verkne Udinsk, but the cakes were not as large. Our chief +ferryman was a Russian, and had a crew of six Bouriats who spoke +Mongol among themselves and Russian with their commander.</p> + +<p>From Selenginsk to Kiachta, a distance of ninety versts, the road is +hilly and sandy. We toiled slowly up the ascents, and our downward +progress was but little better. We met several caravans where the road +was narrow and had but one beaten track. In such cases we generally +found it better to turn aside ourselves than to insist upon our rights +and compel the caravan to leave the road. The hills were sandy and +desolate, and I could not see any special charm in the landscape. I +employed much of the day in sleeping, which may possibly account for +the lack of minute description of the road.</p> + +<p>The only point where the cold touched me was at the tip of my nose, +where I left my <i>dehar</i> open to obtain air. The Russian dehar is +generally made of antelope or deer skin, and forms an admirable +defence against cold. Mine reached to my heels, and touched the floor +when I stood erect. When the collar was turned up and brought together +in front my head was utterly invisible. The sleeves were four or five +inches longer than my arms, and the width of the garment was enough +for a man and a boy. I at first suspected I had bought by mistake a +coat intended for a Russian giant then exhibiting in Moscow.</p> + +<p>This article of apparel is comfortable only when one is seated or +extended in his equipage. Walking is very difficult in a dehar, and +its wearer feels about as free to move as if enclosed in a +pork-barrel. It was a long time before I could turn my collar up or +down without assistance, and frequently after several efforts to seize +an outside object I found myself grasping the ends of my sleeves. The +warmth of the garment atones for its cumbersome character, and its +gigantic size is fully intentional. The length protects the feet and +legs, the high collar warms the head, and the great width of the dehar +allows it to be well wrapped about the body. The long sleeves cover +the hands and preserve fingers from frost bites. Taken as a whole it +is a mental discomfort but a physical good, and may be considered a +necessary nuisance of winter travel in Siberia.</p> + +<p>At Ust Kiachta, the last station before reaching our journey’s end, we +were waited upon by a young and tidy woman in a well-kept room. It was +about nine in the evening when we reached Troitskosavsk, and entered +town among the large buildings formerly occupied as a frontier custom +house. As there was no hotel we drove to the house of the Police +Master, the highest official of the place. I had letters to this +gentleman, but did not find him at home. His brother took us in charge +and sent a soldier to direct us to a house where we could obtain +lodgings.</p> + +<p>It is the custom in Siberian towns to hold a certain number of lodging +places always ready for travelers. These are controlled by the Police +Master, to whom strangers apply for quarters. Whether he will or no, a +man who has registered lodging rooms with the police must open them +to any guest assigned him, no matter what the hour. It was ten o’clock +when we reached our destined abode. We made a great deal of noise that +roused a servant to admit us to the yard. The head of the household +came to the door in his shirt and rubbed his eyes as if only half +awake. His legs trembled with the cold while he waited for our +explanations, and it was not till we were admitted that he thought of +his immodest exposure.</p> + +<p>I would not wish it inferred that no one can find lodgings until +provided by the police. On the contrary, it is rarely necessary to +obtain them through this channel. Travelers are not numerous, and the +few strangers visiting Siberia are most cordially welcomed. Officers +are greeted and find homes with their fellow officers, while merchants +enjoy the hospitalities of men of their class.</p> + +<p>We ordered the samovar, and being within Parrott-gun range of China we +had excellent tea. I passed the night on a sofa so narrow that I found +it difficult to turn over, and fairly rolled to the floor while +endeavoring to bestow myself properly. While finishing my morning +toilet I received a visit from Major Boroslofski, Master of Police, +who came to acknowledge General Ditmar’s letter of introduction. He +tendered the hospitalities of the place, and desired me to command his +services while I remained.</p> + +<p>We had two rooms with a bedstead and sofa, besides lots of chairs, +mirrors, tables, and flower pots. Then we had an apartment nearly +thirty feet square, that contained more chairs, tables, and flower +pots. In one corner there was a huge barrel-organ that enabled me to +develop my musical abilities. I spent half an hour the morning after +our arrival in turning out the national airs of Russia. Molostoff +amused himself by circulating his cap before an invisible audience and +collecting imperceptible coin. While dancing to one of my liveliest +airs he upset a flower pot, and the crash that followed brought our +concert to a close. Two sides of the large room were entirely +bordered with horticultural productions, some of them six or eight +feet high.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg309-1.gif' id='lg309-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>AMATEUR CONCERT IN SIBERIA.</p></div> + +<p>Troitskosavsk and Kiachta have a sort of husband and wife singleness +and duality. They are about two miles apart, the former having five or +six thousand inhabitants and the latter about twelve hundred. In +government, business, and interest the two places are one, the Master +of Police having jurisdiction over both, and the merchants living +indifferently in one or the other. Many persons familiar with the name +of Kiachta never heard of the other town. It may surprise London +merchants who send Shanghai telegrams “via Kiachta” to learn that the +wires terminate at Troitskosavsk, and do not reach Kiachta at all.</p> + +<p>The treaty which established trade between Russia and China at Kiachta +provided that no one should reside there except merchants engaged in +traffic. No officer could live there, nor could any person whatever +beyond merchants and their employees and families remain over night. +No stone buildings except a church could be erected, and visits of +strangers were to be discouraged. Kiachta was thus restricted to the +business of a trading post, and the town of Troitskosavsk, two miles +away, was founded for the residence of the officials, outside traders, +and laborers. Most of the restrictions above mentioned exist no +longer, but the towns have not quite lost their old relations. There +is an excellent road from one to the other, and the carriages, carts, +and pedestrians constantly thronging it present a lively scene.</p> + +<p>The police master tendered his equipage and offered to escort me in +making calls upon those I wished to know. Etiquette is no less rigid +in Siberian towns and cities than in Moscow and St. Petersburg. One +must make ceremonial visits as soon as possible after his arrival, +officials being first called upon in the order of rank and civilians +afterward. Officers making visits don their uniforms, with epaulettes +and side arms, and with all their decorations blazing on their +breasts. Civilians go in evening dress arranged with fastidious care. +The hours for calling are between eleven A.M. and three P.M. A +responsive call may be expected within two days, and must be made with +the utmost precision of costume.</p> + +<p>Arrayed for the occasion I made eight or ten visits in Kiachta and +Troitskosavsk. The air was cold and the frost nipped rather severely +through my thin boots as we drove back from Kiachta. After an early +dinner we went to Maimaichin to visit the <i>sargootchay</i>, or Chinese +governor. We passed under a gateway surmounted with the double-headed +eagle, and were saluted by the Cossack guard as we left the borders of +the Russian empire. Outside the gateway we traversed the neutral +ground, two hundred yards wide, driving toward a screen or short wall +of brick work, on which a red globe was represented. We crossed a +narrow ditch and, passing behind the screen, entered a gateway into +Maimaichin, the most northern city of China.</p> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXVII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2></div> + + +<p>From 1727 to 1860 nearly all the trade between Russia and China was +transacted at Kiachta and Maimaichin. The Russians built the one and +the Chinese the other, exclusively for commercial purposes. To this +day no Chinese women are allowed at Maimaichin. The merchants consider +themselves only sojourners, though the majority spend the best part of +their lives there. Contact with Russians has evidently improved the +Celestials, as this little frontier city is the best arranged and +cleanest in all China.</p> + +<p>After passing the gateway, the street we entered was narrow compared +to our own, and had but a single carriage track. On the sidewalks were +many Chinese, who stopped to look at us, or rather at me. We drove +about two hundred yards and turned into an enclosure, where we +alighted. Near at hand were two masts like flag-staffs, gaily +ornamented at the top but bearing no banners. Our halting place was +near the Temple of Justice, where instruments of punishment were piled +up. There were rattans and bamboos for flogging purposes by the side +of yokes, collars, and fetters, carefully designed for subduing the +refractory. There was a double set of stocks like those now obsolete +in America, and their appearance indicated frequent use. To be +cornered in these would be as unpleasant as in Harlem or Erie.</p> + +<p>From this temple we passed through a covered colonnade and entered an +ante-room, where several officers and servants were in attendance. +Here we left our overcoats and were shown to another apartment where +we met the sargootchay. His Excellency shook hands with me after the +European manner. His son, a youth of sixteen, was then presented, and +made the acquaintance of Major Boroslofski. The sargootchay had a +pleasing and interesting face of the true Chinese type, with no beard +beyond a slight mustache, and a complexion rather paler than most of +his countrymen. He wore the dress of a Mandarin, with the universal +long robe and a silk jacket with wide sleeves.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg312-1.gif' id='lg312-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A CHINESE MANDARIN.</p></div> + +<p>After the ceremony of introduction was ended the sargootchay signed +for us to be seated. He took his own place on a divan, and gave the +‘illustrious stranger’ the post of honor near him. Tea and cigars were +brought, and we had a few moments of smoky silence. The room was +rather bare of furniture, and the decorations on the walls were +Russian and Chinese in about equal proportion. I noticed a Russian +stove in one corner and a samovar in the adjoining room. The +sargootchay had been newly appointed, and arrived only a week before. +I presume his housekeeping was not well under way.</p> + +<p>The interview was as interesting as one could expect where neither +party had anything important to say to the other. We attempted +conversation which expressed our delight at meeting and the good-will +of our respective countries toward each other. The talk was rather +slow, as it went through many translations in passing between me and +my host. Tea and smoke were of immense service in filling up the +chinks.</p> + +<p>When I wished to say anything to the sargootchay I spoke in French to +Major Boroslofski, who sat near me.</p> + +<p>The major then addressed his Bouriat interpreter in Russian.</p> + +<p>This interpreter turned to a Mongol-Chinese official at his side and +spoke to him in Mongol.</p> + +<p>The latter translated into Chinese for the understanding of his chief.</p> + +<p>The replies of the sargootchay returned by the same route. I have a +suspicion that very little of what we really said ever reached its +destination. His reply to one remark of mine had no reference to what +I said, and the whole conversation was a curious medley of +compliments. Our words were doubtless polarized more than once in +transmission.</p> + +<p>We had tea and sweetmeats, the latter in great variety. The manner of +preparing tea did not please me as well as the Russian one. The +Chinese boil their tea and give it a bitter flavor that the Russians +are careful to avoid. They drink it quite strong and hot, using no +milk or sugar. Out of deference to foreign tastes they brought sugar +for us to use at our liking. After the tea and sweetmeats the +sargootchay ordered champagne, in which we drank each other’s health. +At the close of the interview I received invitation to dine with His +Excellency two days later and witness a theatrical performance.</p> + +<p>Our adieus were made in the European manner, and after leaving the +sargootchay we visited a temple in the northern part of the town. We +passed through a large yard and wound among so many courts and +colonnades that I should have been sorely puzzled to find my way out +alone. The public buildings of Maimaichin are not far from each other, +but the routes between them are difficult for one whose ideas of +streets were formed in American cities. On passing the theatre we were +shown two groups larger than life in rooms on opposite sides of a +covered colonnade. They were cut in sand-stone, one representing a +rearing horse which two grooms were struggling to hold. The other was +the same horse walking quietly under control of one man.</p> + +<p>The figures evidently came from Greek history, and I had little doubt +that they were intended to tell of Alexander and Bucephalus. I learned +that the words ‘Philip of Macedon’ were the literal translation of the +Chinese title of the groups. How or when the Celestials heard the +story of Alexander, and why they should represent it in stone, I +cannot imagine. No one could tell the age and origin of these works of +art.</p> + +<p>On the walls of buildings near the temple there were paintings from +Chinese artists, some of them showing a creditable knowledge of +perspective. ‘John’ can paint very well when he chooses, and any one +conversant with his skill will testify that he understands +perspective. Why he does not make more use of it is a mystery that +demands explanation.</p> + +<p>When we entered the temple it was sunset, and the gathering shadows +rendered objects indistinct. From the character of the windows and the +colonnades outside I suppose a ‘dim religious light’ prevails there at +all times. The temple contains several idols or representations of +Chinese deities in figures larger than life, dressed with great skill +and literally gotten up regardless of expense. Their garments were of +the finest silk, and profusely ornamented with gold, silver, and +precious stones. There were the gods of justice, peace, war, +agriculture, mechanics, love, and prosperity. The god of love had a +most hideous countenance, quite in contrast to that of the gentle +Cupid with whom the majority of my readers are doubtless familiar. The +god of war brandished a huge sword, and reminded me of the leading +tragedian of the Bowery Theatre ten years ago. The temple was crowded +with idols, vases, censers, pillars, and other objects, and it was not +easy for our party to move about. In the middle of the apartment there +were tables supporting offerings of cooked fowls and other edibles. +These articles are eaten by the attendants at the temple, but whether +the worshippers, know this fact or believe their gods descend to +satisfy their appetites, I cannot say.</p> + +<p>To judge from what I saw the Chinese are accustomed to decorate their +houses of worship at great cost. There were rich curtains and a +thousand and one articles of more or less value filling the greater +part of the temple. Lanterns and chandeliers displayed the skill and +patience of the Chinese in manipulating metals. There were imitations +of butterflies and other insects, and of delicate leaves and flowers +in metal, painted or burnished in the color of the objects +represented. The aggregate time consumed in the manufacture of these +decorations must be thousands of years. In a suspended vase I saw one +boquet which was a clever imitation of nature, with the single +exception of odor. The Chinese make artificial roses containing little +cups which they fill with rose-water.</p> + +<p>On our return we found the gate closed, and were obliged to wait until +the ponderous key was brought to open it. The officer controlling the +gate made no haste, and we were delayed in a crowd of Chinese men and +dogs for nearly fifteen minutes. It was a peculiar sensation to be +shut in a Chinese town and fairly locked in. It is the custom to close +the gates of Kiachta and Maimaichin and shut off all communication +between sunset and sunrise. The rule is less rigidly enforced than formerly.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg316-1.gif' id='xlg316-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>INTERIOR OF CHINESE TEMPLE</p></div> + +<p>After this introduction I visited Maimaichin almost every day until +leaving for Irkutsk. Maimaichin means ‘place of trade,’ and the name +was given by the officer who selected the site. The town is occupied +by merchants, laborers, and government employees, all dwelling without +families. The sargootchay is changed every three years, and it was +hinted that his short term of office sufficed to give him a fortune.</p> + +<p>The houses were only one story high and plastered with black mud or +cement. The streets cross at right angles, but are not very long, as +the town does not measure more than half a mile in any direction. At +the intersection of the principal streets there are towers two or +three stories high, overlooking the town, and probably intended for +use of the police. Few houses are entered directly from the street, +most of them having court yards with gateways just wide enough for a +single cart or carriage. The dwelling rooms and magazines open upon +the court yards, which are provided with folding gates heavily barred +at night.</p> + +<p>Apart from the public buildings the houses were pretty much alike. +Every court yard was liberally garnished with dogs of the short-nosed +and wide-faced breed peculiar to China. They were generally chained +and invariably made an unpleasant tumult. The dwelling rooms, +kitchens, and magazines had their windows and doors upon the yards, +the former being long and low with small panes of glass, talc, or +oiled paper. In the magazines there were generally two apartments, one +containing most of the goods, while the other was more private and +only entered by strangers upon invitation. At the end of each room +there was a divan, where the inmates slept at night or sat by day. +Near the edge of the divan, was a small furnace, where a charcoal fire +burned constantly. The rooms were warmed by furnaces with pipes +passing beneath the divans or by Russian stoves.</p> + +<p>In every place I visited there were many employees, and I did not +understand how all could be kept busy. Everything was neat and well +arranged, and the Chinese appeared very particular on the subject of +dust. I attempted to buy a few souvenirs of my visit, but very little +was to be purchased. Few strangers come to Maimaichin, and the +merchants have no inducement to keep articles rarely called for.</p> + +<p>I found they were determined to make me pay liberally. “How much?” I +asked on picking up an article in one of their shops. “<i>Chetira +ruble</i>” (four roubles) was the reply. My Russian companion whispered +me not to buy, and after a few moments chaffering we departed. In a +neighboring shop I purchased something precisely similar for one +rouble, and went away rejoicing. On exhibiting my prize at Kiachta I +learned that I paid twice its real value.</p> + +<p>The Chinese merchants are frequently called scoundrels from their +habit of overreaching when opportunity occurs. In some respects they +are worse and in others better than the same class of men in Western +nations. The practice of asking much more than they expect to receive +prevails throughout their empire, and official peculation confined in +certain limits is considered entirely consistent with honesty. Their +cheating, if it can be called by that name, is conducted on certain +established principles. A Chinese will ‘beat about the bush,’ and try +every plan to circumvent the man with whom he deals, but when he once +makes a bargain he adheres to it unflinchingly. Among the merchants I +was told that a word is as good as a bond. Their slipperiness is +confined to preliminaries.</p> + +<p>China contains good and bad like other countries, but in some things +its merchants rank higher than outside barbarians. When the English +were at war with the Viceroy of Canton, the foreigners were driven out +and compelled to leave much property with Chinese merchants. These +Chinese never thought of repudiation, but on the contrary made their +way to Hong Kong during the blockade of the Canton river for the +purpose of settling with the foreigners.</p> + +<p>Old John Bell of Antermony, who traveled to Pekin in the reign of +Peter the Great, in the suite of a Russian Ambassador, makes the +following observations on the Chinese:</p> + +<p>“They are honest, and observe the strictest honor and justice in +their dealings. It must, however, be acknowledged that not a few of +them are much addicted to knavery and well skilled in the art of +cheating. They have, indeed, found many Europeans as great proficients +in that art as themselves.”</p> + +<p>In the shops at Maimaichin there is no display of goods, articles +being kept in closets, drawers, show-cases, and on shelves, whence +they are taken when called for. This arrangement suggests the +propriety of the New York notice: “If you don’t see what you want, ask +for it.” Many things are kept in warerooms in other parts of the +building, and brought when demanded or the merchant thinks he can +effect a sale. In this way they showed me Thibet sheep skins, intended +for lining dressing-gowns, and of the most luxurious softness. There +were silks and other goods in the piece, but the asking prices were +very high. I bought a few small articles, but was disappointed when I +sought a respectable assortment of knick-knacks.</p> + +<p>One of the merchants admired my watch and asked through my Russian +friend how much it cost. I was about to say in Russian, ‘two hundred +roubles,’ when my friend checked me.</p> + +<p>“<i>Dites un enorme prix; deux mille roubles au moins</i>”</p> + +<p>Accordingly I fixed the price at two thousand roubles. Probably the +Chinaman learned the real value of the watch from this exaggerated +figure better than if I had spoken as I first intended.</p> + +<p>The merchants were courteous and appeared to have plenty of time at +command. They brought sweetmeats, confectionery, and tea, in fact the +latter article was always ready. They gave us crystalized sugar, +resembling rock candy, for sweetening purposes, but themselves drank +tea without sugar or milk. They offered us pipes for smoking, and in a +few instances Russian cigarettes. I found the Chinese tobacco very +feeble and the pipes of limited capacity. It is doubtless owing to the +weakness of their tobacco that they can smoke so continuously. The +pipe is in almost constant requisition, the operator swallowing the +smoke and emitting it in a double stream through his nostrils. They +rarely offered us Chinese wine, as that article is repugnant to any +but Celestials. Sometimes they brought sherry and occasionally +champagne.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<a name='ILLUS_320'></a> +<img src="images/sm320-1.gif" id='sm320-1' class='ig001' alt="" /> +<p>THROUGH ORDINARY EYES.</p></div> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<p>I was interested in studying the decorations on window screens and +fans, and the various devices on the walls. The Chinese mind runs to +the hideous in nearly everything fanciful, and most of its works of +art abound in griffins and dragons. Even the portrait of a tiger or +other wild beast is made to look worse than the most savage of his +tribe. If there ever was a dog with a mouth such as the Chinese +artists represent on their canines, he could walk down his own throat +with very little difficulty.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<a name='ILLUS_321'></a> +<img src="images/sm320-2.gif" id='sm320-2' class='ig001' alt="" /> +<p>THROUGH CHINESE EYES</p></div> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<p>The language spoken in the intercourse of Russians and Chinese at +Kiachta is a mongrel tongue in which Russian predominates. It is a +‘pigeon-Russian’ exactly analagous to the ‘pigeon English’ of +Shanghai, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. The Chinese at Maimaichin can +reckon in Russian and understand the rudiments of that language very +well. I observed at Maimaichin, as at San Francisco, the tendency to +add an ‘o’ sound to monosyllabic consonant words. A Chinese merchant +grew familiar during one of my visits, and we exchanged lingual +lessons and cards. He held up a tea-spoon and asked me its name. I +tried him repeatedly with ‘spoon,’ but he would pronounce it ‘spoonee’ +in spite of my instructions. When I gave him a card and called it +such, he pronounced it ‘cardee.’ His name was Chy-Ping-Tong, or +something of the kind, but I was no more able to speak it correctly +than was he to say ‘spoon.’ He wrote his name in my note-book and I +wrote mine in his. Beyond the knowledge of possessing chirographic +specimens of another language, neither party is wiser.</p> + +<p>Whoever has visited St. Petersburg or Moscow has doubtless seen the +<i>abacus</i>, or calculating machine used in Russian shops. It is found +throughout the empire from the German frontier to Bering’s Straits, +not only in the hands of merchants but in many private houses. It +consists of a wooden frame ordinarily a foot long and six inches wide. +There are ten metal wires strung across this frame, and ten balls of +wood on each wire. The Russian currency is a decimal one, and by means +of this machine computations are carried on with wonderful rapidity. I +have seen numbers added by a boy and a machine faster than a New York +bank teller could make the same reckoning. It requires long practice +to become expert in its use, but when once learned it is preferred by +all merchants, whether native or foreign.</p> + +<p>I saw the same machine at Maimaichin, and learned that it was invented +by the Chinese. The Celestials of San Francisco employ it in precisely +the same manner as their countrymen in Mongolia.</p> + +<p>Beside the Chinese dwellers in Maimaichin there are many Mongol +natives of the surrounding region, most of them engaged in +transporting merchandise to and from the city. I saw several trains of +their little two-wheeled carts bringing tea from the southward or +departing with Russian merchandise, and in one visit I encountered a +drove of camels on the neutral ground.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXVIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>I have already mentioned the prevalence of feast-days, both national +and personal. During my stay in Kiachta there were several of these +happy occasions, and I was told they would last the entire winter. One +man opened his house on his name’s day, and another on that of his +wife. A third received friends on the anniversary of his daughter’s +birth, and a fourth had a regular house-warming. Each kept open +mansion in the forenoon and greeted all who came. There was a grand +dinner in the afternoon, followed by a <i>soiree dansame</i> and a supper +at a late hour. In a population like that of Kiachta there is a weekly +average of at least three feast days for the entire year. During my +stay Major Boroslofski had a morning reception on the anniversary of +the death of a child, but there was naturally neither dinner nor dance +after it.</p> + +<p>The dinner and dancing parties were much alike, the same company being +present at all. Even the servants were the same, there being a regular +organization to conduct household festivities. At the first dinner I +attended there were about forty persons at table, all of the sterner +sex. According to the custom among Russian merchants the ladies were +by themselves in another room. Between their apartment and ours there +was a large room, corresponding, as I thought, to the neutral ground +between Kiachta and Maimaichin. Doors were open, and though nobody +occupied the <i>terre neutrale</i> during dinner, both parties retired to +it at the end of the meal.</p> + +<p>The dinner would have been a success in St. Petersburg or Paris; how +much more was it a triumph on the boundary between China and Siberia. +Elegant and richly furnished apartments, expensive table ware, and a +profusion of all procurable luxuries, were the attractions of the +occasion. We had apples from European Russia, three thousand miles +westward, and grapes from Pekin, a thousand miles to the south. There +were liberal quantities of dried and preserved fruits, and the wines +were abundant and excellent. Of the local productions we had many +substantials, till all appetites were satisfied.</p> + +<p>According to Russian custom the host does not partake of the dinner, +but is supposed to look after the welfare of his guests. At Kiachta I +found this branch of etiquette carefully observed. Two or three times +during the dinner the host passed around the entire table and filled +each person’s glass with wine. Where he found an unemptied cup he +urged its drainage.</p> + +<p>After we left the table tea was served, and I was fain to pronounce it +the best I ever tasted. The evening entertainments for those who did +not dance consisted of cards and conversation, principally the former. +Tea was frequently passed around, and at regular intervals the +servants brought glasses of iced champagne.</p> + +<p>The houses of the Kiachta merchants are large and well built, their +construction and adornment requiring much outlay. Nearly all the +buildings are of two stories and situated in large court yards. There +is a public garden, evidently quite gay and pretty in summer. The +church is said to be the finest edifice of the kind in Eastern +Siberia. The double doors in front of the altar are of solid silver, +and said to weigh two thousand pounds avoirdupois. Besides these doors +I think I saw nearly a ton of silver in the various paraphernalia of +the church. There were several fine paintings executed in Europe at +heavy cost, and the floors, walls, and roof of the entire structure +were of appropriate splendor. The church was built at the expense of +the Kiachta merchants. Troitskosavsk contains some good houses, but +they are not equal in luxury to those at Kiachta. Many dwellings in +the former town are of unpainted logs, and each town has its +gastinni-dvor, spacious and well arranged. I visited the market place +every morning and saw curious groups of Russians, Bouriats, Mongols, +and Chinese, engaged in that little commerce which makes the +picturesque life of border towns.</p> + +<p>From 1727 to 1860 the Kiachta merchants enjoyed almost a monopoly of +Chinese trade. Fortunes there are estimated at enormous figures, and +one must be a four or five-millionaire to hold respectable rank. +Possibly many of these worldly possessions are exaggerated, as they +generally are everywhere. The Chinese merchants of Maimaichin are also +reputed wealthy, and it is quite likely that the trade was equally +profitable on both sides of the neutral ground. Money and flesh have +affinities. These Russian and Chinese Astors were almost invariably +possessed of fair, round belly, with good capon lined. They have the +spirit of genuine hospitality, and practice it toward friends and +strangers alike.</p> + +<p>The treaty of 1860, which opened Chinese ports to Russian ships, was a +severe blow to Kiachta and Maimaichin. Up to that time only a single +cargo of tea was carried annually into Russia by water; all the rest +of the herb used in the empire came by land. Unfortunately the treaty +was made just after the Russian and Chinese merchants had concluded +contracts in the tea districts; these contracts caused great losses +when the treaty went into effect, and for a time paralized commerce. +Kiachta still retains the tea trade of Siberia and sends large +consignments to Nijne Novgorod and Moscow. There is now a good +percentage of profit, but the competition by way of Canton and the +Baltic has destroyed the best of it. Under the old monopoly the +merchants arranged high prices and did not oppose each other with +quick and low sales.</p> + +<p>The Kiachta teas are far superior to those from Canton and Shanghae. +They come from the best districts of China and are picked and cured +with great care. There is a popular notion, which the Russians +encourage, that a sea voyage injures tea, and this is cited as the +reason for the character of the herb brought to England and America. I +think the notion incorrect, and believe that we get no first class +teas in America because none are sent there. I bought a small package +of the best tea at Kiachta and brought it to New York. When I opened +it I could not perceive it had changed at all in flavor. I have not +been able to find its like in American tea stores.</p> + +<p>Previous to 1850 all trade at Kiachta was in barter, tea being +exchanged for Russian goods. The Russian government prohibited the +export of gold and silver money, and various subterfuges were adopted +to evade the law. Candlesticks, knives, idols, and other articles were +made of pure gold and sold by weight. Of course the goods were “of +Russian manufacture.”</p> + +<p>Before 1860 the importation of tea at Kiachta was about one million +chests annually, and all of good quality and not including brick tea. +The “brick tea” of Mongolia and Northern China is made from stalks, +large leaves, and refuse matter generally. This is moistened with +sheep’s or bullock’s blood and pressed into brick-shaped cakes. When +dried it is ready for transportation, and largely used by the Mongols, +Bouriats, Tartars, and the Siberian peasantry. In some parts of +Chinese Tartary it is the principal circulating medium of the people. +Large quantities are brought into Siberia, but “brick-tea” never +enters into the computation of Kiachta trade.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm325-1.gif' id='sm325-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>LEGAL TENDER.</p></div> + +<p>Since 1860 the quantity of fine teas purchased at Kiachta has greatly +fallen off. The importation of brick-tea is undiminished, and some +authorities say it has increased.</p> + +<p>None of the merchants speak any language but Russian, and most of them +are firmly fixed at Kiachta. They make now and then journeys to +Irkutsk, and regard such a feat about as a countryman on the Penobscot +would regard a visit to Boston. The few who have been to Moscow and +St. Petersburg have a reputation somewhat analogous to that of Marco +Polo or John Ledyard. Walking is rarely practiced, and the numbers of +smart turnouts, compared to the population, is pretty large. There is +no theatre, concert-room, or newspaper office at Kiachta, and the +citizens rely upon cards, wine, and gossip for amusement. They play +much and win or lose large sums with perfect nonchalance. Visitors are +rare, and the advent of a stranger of ordinary consequence is a great +sensation.</p> + +<p>Kiachta and Maimaichin stand on the edge of a Mongolian steppe seven +or eight miles wide. Very little snow falls there and that little does +not long remain. Wheeled carriages are in use the entire year. The +elevation is about twenty-five hundred feet above sea level.</p> + +<p>There was formerly a custom house at Troitskosavsk, where the duties +on tea were collected. After the occupation of the Amoor the +government opened all the country east of Lake Baikal to free trade. +The custom house was removed to Irkutsk, where all duties are now +arranged.</p> + +<p>There were two Englishmen and one Frenchman residing at Kiachta. The +latter, Mr. Garnier, was a merchant, and was about to many a young and +pretty Russian whose mother had a large fortune and thirteen dogs. The +old lady appeared perfectly clear headed on every subject outside of +dogs. A fortnight before my visit she owned fifteen, but the police +killed two on a charge of biting somebody. She was inconsolable at +their loss, took her bed from grief, and seriously contemplated going +into mourning. I asked Garnier what would be the result if every dog +of the thirteen should have his day. “Ah!” he replied, with a sigh, +“the poor lady could never sustain it. I fear it would cause her +death.”</p> + +<p>One Englishman, Mr. Bishop, had a telegraph scheme which he had vainly +endeavored for two years to persuade the stubborn Chinese to look upon +with favor. The Chinese have a superstitious dread of the electric +telegraph, and the government is unwilling to do anything not in +accordance with the will of the people.</p> + +<p>A few years ago some Americans at Shanghae thought it a good +speculation to construct a telegraph line between that city and the +mouth of the river. The distance was about fifteen miles, and the line +when finished operated satisfactorily. The Chinese made no +interference, either officially or otherwise, with its construction.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg327-1.gif' id='xlg327-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RUSSIAN PETS.</p></div> + +<p>They did not understand its working, but supposed the foreigners +employed agile and invisible devils to run along the wires and convey +intelligence. All went well for a month or two. One night a Chinese +happened to die suddenly in a house that stood near a telegraph pole. +A knowing Celestial suggested that one of the foreign devils had +descended from the wire and killed the unfortunate native. A mob very +soon destroyed the dangerous innovation.</p> + +<p>The other Englishman, Mr. Grant, was the projector and manager of a +Pony Express from Kiachta to Pekin. He forwarded telegrams between +London and Shanghae merchants, any others who chose to employ him. He +claimed that his Mongol couriers made the journey to Pekin in twelve +days, and that he could outstrip the Suez and Ceylon telegraph and +steamers. He seemed a permanent fixture of Kiachta, as he had married +a Russian lady, the daughter of a former governor. All these +foreigners placed me under obligations for various favors, and the two +Britons were certainly more kind to me than to each other.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg328-1.gif' id='lg328-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>PONY EXPRESS.</p></div> + +<p>I spent an evening at the club-rooms, where there was some heavy +card-playing. One man lost nine hundred roubles in half an hour, and +they told me that such an occurrence was not uncommon. In all card +playing I ever witnessed in Russia there was ‘something to make it +interesting.’ Money is invariably staked, and the Russians were +surprised when I said, in answer to questions, that people in America +generally indulged in cards for amusement alone. Ladies had no +hesitation in gambling, and many of them followed it passionately. +‘<i>Chaque pays a sa habitude</i>,’ remarked a lady one evening when I +answered her query about card playing in America. It was the Russian +fashion to gamble, and no one dreamed of making the slightest +concealment of it. Though I saw it repeatedly I could never rid myself +of a desire to turn away when a lady was reckoning her gains and +losses, and keeping her accounts on the table cover. Russian card +tables are covered with green cloth and provided with chalk pencils +and brushes for players’ use. Cards are a government monopoly.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm329-1.gif' id='sm329-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHINESE COLLAR.</p></div> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg329-2.gif' id='lg329-2' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>SUSPENDED FREEDOM.</p></div> + +<p>On the day fixed for my dinner with the sargoochay I accompanied the +Police Master and Captain Molostoff to Maimaichin. As we entered the +court yard of the government house several officers came to receive +us. In passing the temple of Justice I saw an unfortunate wretch +undergoing punishment in a corner of the yard. Ho was wearing a collar +about three feet in diameter and made of four inch plank. It was +locked about his neck, and the man was unable to bring his hand to his +head. A crowd was gazing at the culprit, but he seemed quite +unconcerned and intent upon viewing the strangers. The Chinese have a +system of yokes and stocks that seem a refinement of cruelty. They +have a cheerful way of confining a man in a sort of cage about three +feet square, the top and bottom being of plank and the sides of square +sticks. His head passes through the top, which forms a collar +precisely like the one described above, while the sides are just long +enough to force him to stand upon the tip of his toes or hang +suspended by his head. In some instances a prisoner’s head is passed +through a hole in the bottom of a heavy cask. He cannot stand erect +without lifting the whole weight, and the cask is too long to allow +him to sit down. He must remain on his knees in a torturing position, +and cannot bring his hands to his head. He relies on his friends to +feed him, and if he has no friends he must starve. The jailers think +it a good joke when a man loses the number of his mess in this way.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg330-1.gif' id='lg330-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>PUNISHMENT FOR BURGLARY.</p></div> + +<p>The sargoochay met us in the apartment where our reception took place. +He seated us around a table in much the same manner as before. While +we waited dinner I exhibited a few photographs of the Big Trees of +California, which I took with me at Molostoff’s suggestion. I think +the representative of His Celestial Majesty was fairly astonished on +viewing these curiosities. The interpreter told him that all trees in +America were like those in the pictures, and that we had many +cataracts four or five miles high.</p> + +<p>To handle our food we had forks and chopsticks, and each guest had a +small saucer of <i>soy</i>, or vinegar, at his right hand. The food was +roast pig and roast duck, cut into bits the size of one’s thumb nail, +and each piece was to be dipped in the vinegar before going into the +mouth. Then there were dishes of hashed meat or stew, followed by +minced pies in miniature. I was a little suspicious of the last +articles and preferred to stick to the pig.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm331-1.gif' id='sm331-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHOPSTICKS, FORK, & SAUCER.</p></div> + +<p>We had good claret and bad sherry, followed by Chinese wine. Champagne +was brought when we began drinking toasts. Chinese wine, <i>sam-shoo,</i> +is drank hot, from cups holding about a thimbleful. It is very strong, +one cup being quite sufficient. The historic Bowery boy drinking a +glass of Chinese wine might think he had swallowed a pyrotechnic +display on Fourth of July night.</p> + +<p>We conversed as before, going through English, French, Russian, +Mongol, and Chinese, and after dinner smoked our pipes and cigars. The +sargoochay had a pipe with a slender bowl that could be taken out for +reloading, like the shell of a Remington rifle. A single whiff served +to exhaust it, and the smoke passing through water became purified. An +attendant stood near to manage the pipe of His Excellency whenever his +services were needed. We endeavored to smoke each others’ pipes and +were quite satisfied after a minute’s experience. His tobacco was very +feeble, and I presume mine was too strong for his taste.</p> + +<p>The sargoochay had ordered a theatrical display in my honor, though it +was not ‘the season,’ and the affair was hastily gotten up. When all +was ready he led the way to the theatre; the pipe-bearer came +respectfully in our rear, and behind him was the staff and son of the +sargoochay. The stage of the theatre faced an open court yard, and was +provided with screens and curtains, but had no scenery that could be +shifted. About thirty feet in front of the stage was a pavilion of +blue cloth, open in front and rear. We were seated around a table +under this pavilion, and drank tea and smoked while the performance +was in progress. There was a crowd of two or three hundred Chinese +between the pavilion and the stage. The Mongol soldiers kept an open +passage five or six feet wide in front of us so that we had an +unobstructed view.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg332-1.gif' id='xlg332-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHINESE THEATRE.</p></div> + +<p>A comedy came first, and I had little difficulty in following the +story by the pantomime alone. Female characters were represented by +men, Chinese law forbidding women to act on the stage. Certain parts +of the play were open to objections on account of immodesty, but when +no ladies are present I presume a Chinese audience is not fastidious. +The comedy was followed by something serious, of which I was unable to +learn the name. I supposed it represented the superiority of the +deities over the living things of earth.</p> + +<p>First, there came representations of different animals. There were the +tiger, bear, leopard, and wolf, with two or three beasts whose genera +and species I could not determine. There was an ostrich and an +enormous goose, both holding their heads high, while a crocodile, or +something like it, brought up the rear. Each beast and bird was made +of painted cloth over light framework, with a man inside to furnish +action. While the tiger was making himself savage the mask fell off, +and revealed the head of a Chinese. A rent in the skin of the ostrich +disclosed the arm of the performer inside. The animals were not very +well made, and the accident to the tiger’s head reminded me of the +Bowery elephant whose hind legs became very drunk and fell among the +orchestra, leaving the fore legs to finish the play.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm333-1.gif' id='sm333-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHINESE TIGER.</p></div> + +<p>Each animal made a circuit of the stage, bowed to the sargoochay, and +retired. Then came half a dozen performers, only one being visible at +a time. They were dressed, as I conjectured, to represent Chinese +divinities, and as each appeared upon the stage he made a short +recitation in a bombastic tone. The costumes of these actors were +brilliantly decorated with metal ornaments, and there was a luxuriance +of beard on most of the performer’s faces, quite in contrast to the +scanty growth which nature gave them. When the deities were assembled +the animals returned and prostrated themselves in submission. A second +speech from each actor closed the theatrical display. During all the +time we sat under the pavilion the crowd looked at me far more +intently than at the stage. An American was a great curiosity in the +city limits of Maimaichin.</p> + +<p>The performance began about two o’clock and lasted less than an hour. +At its close we thanked the sargoochay for his courtesy, and returned +to Kiachta. One of my Russian acquaintances had invited me to dine +with him; “you can dine with the sargoochay at one o’clock,” he said, +“and will be entirely able to enjoy my dinner two hours later.” I +found the dinner at Maimaichin more pleasing to the eye than the +stomach, and returned with a good appetite.</p> + +<p>Some years ago the Russian government abolished the office of Governor +of Kiachta and placed its military and kindred affairs in the hands of +the Chief of Police. Diplomatic matters were entrusted to a +‘Commissary of the Frontier,’ who resided at Kiachta, while the Chief +of Police dwelt at Troitskosavsk. When I arrived there, Mr. Pfaffius, +the Commissary of the Frontier, was absent, though hourly expected +from Irkutsk.</p> + +<p>Mr. Pfaffius arrived on the third day of my visit, and invited me to a +dinner at his house on the afternoon of my departure for Irkutsk. As +the first toast of the occasion he proposed the President of the +United States, and regretted deeply the misfortune that prevented his +drinking the health of Mr. Lincoln. In a few happy remarks he touched +upon the cordial feeling between the two nations, and his utterance of +good-will toward the United States was warmly applauded by all the +Russians present. In proposing the health of the Emperor I made the +best return in my power for the courtesy of my Muscovite friends.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXIX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2></div> + + +<p>In the year 1786 a vessel of three hundred and fifty tons burden +sailed from an American port for Canton. She was the first to carry +the flag of the United States to the shores of Cathay, and to begin a +commerce that has since assumed enormous proportions. European nations +had carried on a limited trade with the Chinese before that time, but +they were restricted to a single port, and their jealousy of each +other prevented their adopting those measures of co-operation that +have recently proved so advantageous. China was averse to opening her +territory to foreign merchants, and regarded with suspicion all their +attempts to gain a foothold upon her soil. On the north, since 1727, +the Russians had a single point of commercial exchange. In the south +Canton was the only port open to those who came to China by sea, while +along the coast-line, facing to the eastward, the ports were sealed +against foreign intrusion. Commerce between China and the outer world +was hampered by many restrictions, and only its great profits kept it +alive. But once fairly established, the barbarian merchants taught the +slow-learning Chinese that the trade brought advantage to all engaged +in it. Step by step they pressed forward, to open new ports and extend +commercial relations, which were not likely to be discontinued, if +only a little time were allowed to show their value.</p> + +<p>As years rolled on, trade with China increased. For a long time the +foreigners trading with China had no direct intercourse with the +General Government, but dealt only with the local and provincial +authorities. It was not until after the famous “Opium War” that +diplomatic relations were opened with the court at Pekin, and a common +policy adopted for all parts of the empire, in its dealings with the +outer world. Considering the extremely conservative character of the +Chinese, their adherence to old forms and customs, their general +unwillingness to do differently from their ancestors, and the not +over-amiable character of the majority of the foreigners that went +there to trade, it is not surprising that many years were required for +commercial relations to grow up and become permanent. The wars between +China and the Western powers did more than centuries of peace could +have done to open the Oriental eyes. Austria’s defeat on the field of +Sadowa advanced and enlightened her more than a hundred years of peace +and victory could have done, at her old rate of progress. The +victories of the allied forces in China, culminating in the capture of +Pekin and dictation of terms by the foreign leaders, opened the way +for a free intercourse between the East and West, and the immense +advantages that an unrestricted commerce is sure to bring to an +industrious, energetic, and economical people.</p> + +<p>With a river-system unsurpassed by that of any other nation of the +world, China relied upon navigation by junks, which crept slowly +against the current when urged by strong winds, and lay idle or were +towed or poled by men when calms or head-breezes prevailed. Of steam +applied to propulsion, she had no knowledge, until steamboats of +foreign construction appeared in her waters and roused the wonder of +the oblique-eyed natives by their mysterious powers. The first +steamboat to ascend a Chinese river created a greater sensation than +did the Clermont on her initial voyage along the Hudson or her Western +prototype, several years later, among the Indians of the upper Missouri. + +<a name='FNanchor_E_5'></a> +<a href='#Footnote_E_5'> +<sup>[E]</sup></a> In 1839 the first steam venture was made in China. An +English house placed a boat on the route between Canton and Macao, and +advertised it to carry freight and passengers on stated days. For the +first six months the passengers averaged about a dozen to each +trip—half of them Europeans, and the rest natives. The second +half-year the number of native patrons increased, and by the end of +the second year the boat, on nearly every trip, was filled with +Chinese. The trade became so lucrative that another boat was brought +from England and placed on the route, which continued to be a source +of profit until the business was overdone by opposition lines. As soon +as the treaties permitted, steamers were introduced into the +coasting-trade of China, and subsequently upon the rivers and other +inland waters. The Chinese merchants perceived the importance of rapid +and certain transportation for their goods in place of the slow and +unreliable service of their junks, and the advance in rates was +overbalanced by the increased facilities and the opportunities of the +merchants to make six times as many ventures annually as by the old +system.</p> + +<p><a name='Footnote_E_5'></a> +<a href='#FNanchor_E_5'>[E]</a></p> +<div class='note'><p> A gentleman once described to me the sensation produced +by the first steam vessel that ascended one of the Chinese rivers. “It +was,” said he, “a screw steamer, and we were burning anthracite coal +that made no smoke. The current was about two miles an hour, and with +wind and water unfavorable, the Chinese boats bound upward were slowly +dragged by men pulling at long tow-lines. We steamed up the middle of +the stream, going as rapidly as we dared with our imperfect knowledge, +and the necessity of constant sounding. Our propeller was quite +beneath the water, and so far as outward appearance went there was no +visible power to move us. Chinamen are generally slow to manifest +astonishment, and not easily frightened, but their excitement on that +occasion was hardly within bounds. Men, women, and children ran to see +the monster, and after gazing a few moments a fair proportion of them +took to their heels for safety. Dogs barked and yelped on all the +notes of the chromatic scale, occasional boats’ crews jumped to the +shore, and those who stuck to their oars did their best to get out of +our way.”</p></div> + +<p>Probably there is no people in the world that can be called a nation +of shop-keepers more justly than the Chinese; thousands upon thousands +of them are engaged in petty trade, and the competition is very keen. +Of course, where there is an active traffic the profits are small, and +any thing that can assist the prompt delivery of merchandise and the +speedy transmission of intelligence, money, credits, or the merchant +himself, is certain to be brought into full use. No accurate +statistics are at hand of the number of foreign steamers now in China, +but well-informed parties estimate the burden of American coasting +and river-vessels at upward of thirty thousand tons, while that of +other nationalities is much larger. Steamboats, with a burden of more +than ten thousand tons, are owned by Chinese merchants, and about half +that quantity is the joint property of Chinese and foreigners. In +managing their boats and watching the current expenses, the Chinese +are quite equal to the English and Americans, and are sometimes able +to carry freight upon terms ruinous to foreign competitors.</p> + +<p>Foreign systems of banking and insurance have been adopted, and work +successfully. The Chinese had a mode of banking long before time +European nations possessed much knowledge of financial matters; and it +is claimed that the first circulating-notes and bills-of-credit ever +issued had their origin during a monetary pressure at Pekin. But they +were so unprogressive that, when intercourse was opened with the +Western World, they found their own system defective, and were forced +to adopt the foreign innovation. Insurance companies were first owned +and managed by foreigners at the open ports, and as soon as the plan +of securing themselves against loss by casualties was understood by +the Chinese merchants, they began to form companies on their own +account, and carry their operations to the interior of the empire. All +the intricacies of the insurance business—even to the formation of +fraudulent companies, with imaginary officers, and an explosion at a +propitious moment—are fully understood and practised by the Chinese.</p> + +<p>By the facilities which the advent of foreigners has introduced to the +Chinese, the native trade along the rivers and with the open ports has +rapidly increased. On the rivers and along the coast the steamers and +native boats are actively engaged, and the population of the open +ports has largely increased in consequence of the attractions offered +to the people of all grades and professions. The greatest extension +has been in the foreign trade, which, from small beginnings, now +amounts to more than nine hundred millions of dollars annually. Where +formerly a dozen or more vessels crept into Canton yearly, there are +now hundreds of ships and steamers traversing the ocean to and from +the accessible points of the coast of the great Eastern Empire. +America has a large share of this commerce with China, and from the +little beginning, in 1786, she has increased her maritime service, +until she now has a fleet of sailing ships second to none in the +world, and a line of magnificent steamers plying regularly across the +Pacific, and bringing the East in closer alliance with the West than +ever before.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg339-1.gif' id='xlg339-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHINESE PUNISHMENT.</p></div> + +<p>Railways will naturally follow the steamboat, and an English company +is now arranging to supply the Chinese with a railway-system to +connect the principal cities, and especially to tap the interior +districts, where the water communications are limited. There is no +regular system of mail-communication in China; the Government +transmits intelligence by means of couriers, and when merchants have +occasion to communicate with persons at a distance they use private +expresses. Foreign and native merchants, doing an extensive business, +keep swift steamers, which they use as despatch-boats, and sometimes +send them at heavy expense to transmit single messages. It has +happened that, on a sudden change of markets, two or more houses in +Hong Kong or Shanghae have despatched boats at the same moment; and +some interesting and exciting races are recorded in the local +histories.</p> + +<p>The barriers of Chinese exclusion were broken down when the treaties +of the past ten years opened the empire to foreigners, and placed the +name of China on the list of diplomatic and treaty powers. The last +stone of the wall that shut the nation from the outer world was +overthrown when the court at Pekin sent an embassy, headed by a +distinguished American, to visit the capitals of the Western nations, +and cement the bonds of friendship between the West and the East. It +was eminently fitting that an American should be selected as the head +of this embassy, and eminently fitting, too, that the ambassador of +the oldest nation should first visit the youngest of all the great +powers of the world. America, just emerged from the garments of +childhood, and with full pride and consciousness of its youthful +strength, presents to ruddy England, smiling France, and the other +members of the family of nations, graybeard and dignified China, who +expresses joy at the introduction, and hopes for a better acquaintance +in the years that are to come.</p> + +<p>During his residence at Pekin, Mr. Burlingame interested himself in +endeavoring to introduce the telegraph into China, and though meeting +with opposition on account of certain superstitions of the Chinese, he +was ultimately successful. The Chinese do not understand the working +of the telegraph—at least the great majority of them do not—and like +many other people elsewhere, with regard to any thing +incomprehensible, they are inclined to ascribe it to a satanic origin. +In California, the Chinese residents make a liberal use of the +telegraph; though they do not trouble themselves with an investigation +of its workings, they fully appreciate its importance. John, in +California, is at liberty to send his messages in “pigeon-English,” +and very funny work he makes of it occasionally. Chin Lung, in +Sacramento, telegraphs to Ming Yup, in San Francisco, “You me send one +piecee me trunk,” which means, in plain language, “Send me my trunk.” +Mr. Yup complies with the request, and responds by telegraph, “Me you +trunkee you sendee.” The inventor of pigeon-English is unknown, and it +is well for his name that it has not been handed down; he deserves the +execration of all who are compelled to use the legacy he has left. It +is just as difficult for a Chinese to learn pigeon-English as it would +be to learn pure and honest English, and it is about as intelligible +as Greek or Sanscrit to a newly-arrived foreigner. In Shanghae or Hong +Kong, say to your Chinese <i>ma-foo</i>, who claims to speak English, +“Bring me a glass of water,” and he will not understand you. Repeat +your order in those words, and he stands dumb and uncomprehending, as +though you had spoken the dialect of the moon. But if you say, “You go +me catchee bring one piecee glass water; savey,” and his tawny face +beams intelligence as he obeys the order.</p> + +<p>In the phrase, “pigeon-English,” the word pigeon means “business,” +and the expression would be more intelligible if it were +“business-English.” Many foreigners living in China have formed the +habit of using this and other words in their Chinese sense, and +sometimes one hears an affair of business called “a pigeon.” A +gentleman whom I met in China used to tell, with a great deal of +humor, his early experiences with the language.</p> + +<p>“When I went to Shanghae,” said he, “I had an introduction to a +prominent merchant, who received me very kindly, and urged me to call +often at his office. A day or two later I called, and inquired for +him. ‘Won’t be back for a week or two,’ said the clerk; ‘he has gone +into the country, about two hundred miles, after a little pigeon.’ I +asked no questions, but as I bowed myself out, I thought, ‘He must be +a fool, indeed. Go two hundred miles into the country after a pigeon, +and a little one at that! He has lost his senses, if he ever possessed +any.’”</p> + +<p>Nearly all the trade with China is carried on at the Southern and +Eastern ports, and comparatively few of the foreign merchants in China +have ever been at Pekin, which was opened only a few years ago. But +the war with the allied powers, the humiliation of the government, the +successes of the rebels, and the threatened extinction of the ruling +dynasty, led to important changes of policy. The treaty of Tientsin, +in 1860, opened the empire as it had never been open before. +Foreigners could travel in China where they wished, for business or +pleasure, and the navigable rivers were declared free to foreign +boats. Pekin was opened to travelers but not to foreign merchants; but +it is probable that commerce will be carried to that city before long. +There is an extensive trade at Tientsin, ninety miles south of the +capital, and when it becomes necessary to carry it to the doors of the +palace of the Celestial ruler, the diplomats will not be slow to find +a sufficient pretext for it.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXX.</h2></div> + + +<p>The great cities of China are very much alike in their general +features. None of them have wide streets, except in the foreign +quarters, and none of them are clean; in their abundance of dirt they +can even excel New York, and it would be worth the while for the +rulers of the American metropolis to visit China and see how filthy a +city can be made without half trying. The most interesting city in +China is Pekin, for the reason that it has long been the capital, and +contains many monuments of the past greatness and the glorious history +of the Celestial empire. Its temples are massive, and show that the +Chinese, hundreds of years ago, were no mean architects; its walls +could resist any of the ordinary appliances of war before the +invention of artillery, and even the tombs of its rulers are monuments +of skill and patience that awaken the admiration of every beholder. +Throughout China Pekin is reverentially regarded, and in many +localities the man who has visited it is regarded as a hero. Though +the capital, it is the most northern city of large population in the +whole empire.</p> + +<p>Pekin is divided into the Chinese city and the Tartar one, the +division was made at the time of the Tartar conquest, and for many +years the two people refused to associate freely. A wall separates the +cities; the gates through it are closed at night, and only opened when +sufficient reason is given. If the party who desires to pass the gate +can give no verbal excuse he has only to drop some money in the hands +of the gate-keeper, and the pecuniary apology is considered entirely +satisfactory. Time has softened the asperities of Tartar and Chinese +association, so that the two people mingle freely, and it is +impossible for a stranger to distinguish one from the other. Many +Chinese live in the Tartar town and transact business, and I fancy +that they would not always find it easy to explain their pedigree, or, +at all events, that of some of their children. The foreign legations +are in the Tartar city, for the reason that the government offices are +there, and also for the reason that it is the most pleasant, (or the +least unpleasant,) part of Pekin to reside in. All the embassies have +spacious quarters, with the exception of the Russian one, which is the +oldest; when it was established there it was a great favor to be +allowed any residence whatever.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg344-1.gif' id='xlg344-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>PROVISION DEALER.</p></div> + +<p>From the center gate between the Chinese and Tartar cities there is a +street two or three miles long, and having the advantages of being +wide, straight, and dirty. It is blocked up with all sorts of +huckster’s stalls and shops, and is kept noisy with the shouts of the +people who have innumerable articles for sale. Especially in summer +is there a liberal assemblage of peddlers, jugglers, beggars, donkey +drivers, merchants, idlers, and all the other professions and +non-professions that go to make up a population. The peddlers have +fruit and other edibles, not omitting an occasional string of rats +suspended from bamboo poles, and attached to cards on which the +prices, and sometimes the excellent qualities of the rodents, are set +forth. It is proper to remark that the Chinese are greatly slandered +on the rat question. As a people they are not given to eating these +little animals; it is only among the poorer classes that they are +tolerated, and then only because they are the cheapest food that can +be obtained. I was always suspicious when the Chinese urged me to +partake of little meat pies and dumplings, whose components I could +only guess at, and when the things were forced upon me I proclaimed a +great fondness for stewed duck and chicken, which were manifestly all +right. But I frankly admit that I do not believe they would have +inveigled me into swallowing articles to which the European mind is +prejudiced, and my aversion arose from a general repugnance to hash in +all forms—a repugnance which had its origin in American hotels and +restaurants.</p> + +<p>The jugglers are worth a little notice, more I believe than they +obtain from their countrymen. They attract good audiences along the +great street of Pekin, but after swallowing enough stone to load a +pack-mule, throwing up large bricks and allowing them to break +themselves on his head, and otherwise amusing the crowd for half an +hour or so, the poor necromancer cannot get cash enough to buy himself +a dinner. Those who feel disposed to give are not very liberal, and +their donations are thrown into the ring very much as one would toss a +bone to a bull-dog. Sometimes a man will stand with a white painted +board, slightly covered with thick ink, and while talking with his +auditors he will throw off, by means of his thumb and fingers, +excellent pictures of birds and fishes, with every feather, fin, and +scale done with accuracy. Such genius ought to be rewarded, but it +rarely receives pecuniary recognition enough to enable its possessor +to dress decently. Other slight-of-hand performances abound; the +Chinese are very skillful at little games of thimble-rig and the like, +and when a stranger chooses to make a bet on their operations they are +sure to take in his money. In sword-swallowing and knife-throwing, the +natives of the Flowery Kingdom are without rivals, and the uninitiated +spectator can never understand how a man can make a breakfast of +Asiatic cutlery without incurring the risk of dyspepsia.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg346-1.gif' id='xlg346-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CHINESE MENDICANTS.</p></div> + +<p>China is the paradise of beggars—I except Italy from the mendicant +list—so far as numbers are concerned, though they do not appear to +flourish and live in comfort. There are many dwarfs, and it is +currently reported at Pekin that they are produced and cultivated for +the special purpose of asking alms. One can be very liberal in China +at small expense, as the smallest coin is worth only one-fifteenth of +a cent, and a shilling’s worth of “cash” can be made to go a great +way if the giver is judicious. Many of the beggars are blind, and they +sometimes walk in single file under the direction of a chief; they are +nearly all musicians, and make the most hideous noises, which they +call melody. Anybody with a sensitive ear will pay them to move on +where they will annoy somebody beside himself. Many of the beggars are +almost naked, and they attract attention by striking their hands +against their hips and shouting at the top of their voices. One day +the wife of the French minister at Pekin gave some garments to those +who were the most shabbily dressed; the next morning they returned as +near naked as ever, and some of them entirely so.</p> + +<p>Outside of the Tartar city there is a beggar’s lodging house, which +bears the name of “the House of the Hen’s Feathers.” It is a hall, +with a floor of solid earth and a roof of thin laths caulked and +plastered with mud. The floor is covered with a thick bed of feathers, +which have been gathered in the markets and restaurants of Pekin, +without much regard to their cleanliness. There is an immense quilt of +thick felt the exact size of the hall, and raised and lowered by means +of mechanism. When the curfew tolls the knell of parting day, the +beggars flock to this house, and are admitted on payment of a small +fee. They take whatever places they like, and at an appointed time the +quilt is lowered. Each lodger is at liberty to lie coiled up in the +feathers, or if he has a prejudice in favor of fresh air, he can stick +his head through one of the numerous holes that the coverlid contains.</p> + +<p>A view of this quilt when the heads are protruding is suggestive of an +apartment where dozens of dilapidated Chinese have been decapitated. +All night long the lodgers keep up a frightful noise; the proprietor, +like the individual in the same business in New York, will tell you, +“I sells the place to sleep, but begar, I no sells the sleep with it.” +The couch is a lively one, as the feathers are a convenient warren for +a miscellaneous lot of living things not often mentioned in polite +society. In the southern cities of China one sees fewer women in the +street than in the north. Those that appear in public are always of +the poorer classes, and it is rare indeed that one can get a view of +the famous small-footed women. The odious custom of compressing the +feet is much less common at Pekin than in the southern provinces. The +Manjour emperors of China opposed it ever since their dynasty ascended +the throne, and on several occasions they issued severe edicts against +it. The Tartar and Chinese ladies that compose the court of the +empresses have their feet of the natural size, and the same is the +case with the wives of many of the officials. But such is the power of +fashion that many of these ladies have adopted the theatrical slipper, +which is very difficult to walk with. No one can tell where the custom +of compressing the feet originated, but it is said that one of the +empresses was born with deformed feet, and set the fashion, which soon +spread through the empire. The jealousy of the men and the idleness +and vanity of the women have served to continue the custom. Every +Chinese who can afford it will have at least one small-footed wife, +and she is maintained in the most perfect indolence. For a woman to +have a small foot is to show that she is of high birth and rich +family, and she would consider herself dishonored if her parents +failed to compress her feet.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg348-1.gif' id='lg348-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE FAVORITE.</p></div> + +<p>When remonstrated with about the practice, the Chinese retort by +calling attention to the compression of the waist as practiced in +Europe and America. “It is all a matter of taste,” said a Chinese +merchant one day when addressed on the subject. “We like women with +small feet and you like them with small waists. What is the +difference?”</p> + +<p>And what <i>is</i> the difference?</p> + +<p>The compression is begun when a girl is six years old, and is +accomplished with strong bandages. The great toe is pressed beneath +the others, and these are bent under, so that the foot takes the shape +of a closed fist. The bandages are drawn tighter every month, and in a +couple of years the foot has assumed the desired shape and ceased to +grow.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm349-1.gif' id='sm349-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FEMALE FEET AND SHOE.</p></div> + +<p>Very often this compression creates diseases that are difficult to +heal; it is always impossible for the small-footed woman to walk +easily, and sometimes she cannot move without support. To have the +finger-nails very long is also a mark of aristocracy; sometimes the +ladies enclose their nails in silver cases, which are very convenient +for cleansing the ears of their owner or tearing out the eyes of +somebody else.</p> + +<p>Walking along the great street of Pekin, one is sure to see a fair +number of gamblers and gambling houses. Gambling is a passion with the +Chinese, and they indulge it to a greater extent than any other people +in the world. It is a scourge in China, and the cause of a great deal +of the poverty and degradation that one sees there. There are various +games, like throwing dice, and drawing sticks from a pile, and there +is hardly a poor wretch of a laborer who will not risk the chance of +paying double for his dinner on the remote possibility of getting it +for nothing. The rich are addicted to the vice quite as much as the +poor, and sometimes they will lose their money, then their houses, +their lands, their wives, their children, and so on up to themselves, +when they have nothing else that their adversaries will accept. The +winter is severe at Pekin, and it sometimes happens that men who have +lost everything, down to their last garments, are thrust naked into +the open air, where they perish of cold. Sometimes a man will bet his +fingers on a game, and if he loses he must submit to have them chopped +off and turned over to the winner.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg350-1.gif' id='xlg350-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A LOTTERY PRIZE.</p></div> + +<p>There is a tradition that one of the Chinese emperors used to get up +lotteries, in which the ladies of the court were the prizes. He +obtained quite a revenue from the business, which was popular with +both the players and the prizes, as the latter were enabled to obtain +husbands without the trouble of negotiation.</p> + +<p>The lottery has a place in the Chinese courts of justice. There is one +mode of capital punishment in which a dozen or twenty knives are +placed in a covered basket, and each knife is marked for a particular +part of the body. The executioner puts his hand under the cover and +draws at random. If the knife is for the toes, they are cut off one +after another; if for the feet, they are severed, and so on until a +knife for the heart or neck is reached. Usually the friends of the +victim bribe the executioner to draw early in the game a knife whose +wound will be fatal, and he generally does as he agrees. The +bystanders amuse themselves by betting as to how long the culprit will +stand it. Facetious dogs, those Chinese.</p> + +<p>To enumerate all the ways of inflicting punishment in China would be +to fill a volume. Punishment is one of the fine arts, and a man who +can skin another elegantly is entitled to rank as an artist. The +bastinado and floggings are common, and then they have huge shears, +like those used in tin shops, for snipping off feet and arms, very +much as a gardener would cut off the stem of a rose.</p> + +<p>Some years ago the environs of Tientsin were infested by bands of +robbers who were suspected of living in villages a few miles away. The +governor was ordered by the imperial authority to suppress these +robberies, and in order to get the right persons he sent out his +soldiers and arrested everybody, old and young, in the suspected +villages. Of course there were innocent persons among the captives, +but that made no difference; some of them were blind, and others +crippled, but the police had orders to bring in everybody. The +prisoners were summarily tried; some of them had their heads cut off, +others were imprisoned, and others were whipped. Nobody escaped +without some punishment; the result was that the robber bands were +broken up and the robberies ceased.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg352-1.gif' id='lg352-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A CHINESE PALANQUIN.</p></div> +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg352-2.gif' id='lg352-2' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A PEKIN CAB.</p></div> + +<p>It is not easy to go about Pekin. It is a city of magnificent +distances, and the sights which one wants to see are far apart. The +streets are bad, being dusty in dry weather and muddy when it rains, +and the carriage way is cut up with deep ruts that make riding very +uncomfortable. The cabs of Pekin are little carts, just large enough +for two persons of medium size. They are without springs, and not very +neatly arranged inside. If one does not like them he can walk or take +a palanquin—there are plenty of palanquins in the city, and they do +not cost an exorbitant sum. They are not very commodious, but +infinitely preferable to the carts. The comforts of travel are very +few in China. A Chinese never travels for pleasure, and he does not +understand the spirit that leads tourists from one end of the world to +the other in search of adventure. When he has nothing to do he sits +down, smokes his pipe, and thinks about his ancestors. He never rides, +walks, dances, or takes the least exercise for pleasure alone. It is +business and nothing else that controls his movements.</p> + +<p>When an English ship touched at Hong Kong some years ago, the captain +gave a ball to the foreign residents, and invited several Chinese +merchants to attend the festivities. One heavy old merchant who had +never before seen anything of the kind, looked on patiently, and when +the dance was concluded he beckoned the captain to his side and asked +if he could not get his servants to do that work and save him the +trouble.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg353-1.gif' id='lg353-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>PRIEST IN TEMPLE OF CONFUCIUS.</p></div> + +<p>One of the great curiosities of Pekin is the temple of Confucius, +where once a year the Emperor worships the great sage without the +intervention of paintings or images. In the central shrine there is a +small piece of wood, a few inches long, standing upright and bearing +the name of Confucius in Chinese characters. The temple contains +several stone tablets, on which are engraved the records of honor +conferred on literary men, and it is the height of a Chinese +scholar’s ambition to win a place here. There are several fine trees +in the spacious court yard, and they are said to have been planted by +the Mongol dynasty more than five hundred years ago. The building is a +magnificent one, and contains many curious relics of the various +dynasties, some of them a thousand years old. The ceiling is +especially gorgeous, and the tops of the interior walls are ornamented +with wooden boards bearing the names of the successive emperors in +raised gilt characters. As soon as an emperor ascends the throne he at +once adds his name to the list.</p> + +<p>The Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Earth are also among the +curiosities of Pekin. The former stands in an enclosed space a mile +square, and has a great central pavilion, with a blue roof, and a gilt +top that shines in the afternoon sun like the dome of St. Isaac’s +church at St. Petersburg. The enclosed space includes a park, +beautifully laid out with avenues of trees and with regular, well +paved walks. In the park are some small buildings where the priests +live, that is to say, they are small compared with the main structure, +though they are really fine edifices. The great pavilion is on a high +causeway, and has flights of steps leading up to it from different +directions. The pavilion is three stories high, the eaves of each +story projecting very far and covered with blue enameled tiles. An +enormous gilt ball crowns the whole, and around the building there is +a bewildering array of arches and columns, with promenades and steps +of white marble, evincing great skill and care in their construction. +Unfortunately, the government is not taking good care of the temple, +and the grass is growing in many places in the crevices of the +pavements.</p> + +<p>The Temple of Earth is where the emperor goes annually to witness the +ceremony of opening the planting season, and to inaugurate it by +ploughing the first furrow. The ceremony is an imposing one, and never +fails to draw a large assemblage.</p> + +<p>One of the most interesting objects in the vicinity of Pekin previous +to 1860 was “Yuen-ming Yuen,” or the summer palace of the emperor, +Kien Loong. It was about eight miles northwest of the city, and bore +the relation to Pekin that Versailles does to Paris. I say <i>was</i>, +because it was ravaged by the English and French forces in their +advance upon the Chinese capital, and all the largest and best of the +buildings were burned. The country was hilly, and advantage was taken +of this fact, so that the park presented every variety of hill, dale, +woodland, lawn, garden, and meadow, interspersed with canals, pools, +rivulets, and lakes, with their banks in imitation of nature. The park +contained about twelve square miles, and there were nearly forty +houses for the residence of the emperor’s ministers, each of them +surrounded with buildings for large retinues of servants. The summer +palace, or central hall of reception, was an elaborate structure, and +when it was occupied by the French army thousands of yards of the +finest silk and crape were found there. These articles were so +abundant that the soldiers used them for bed clothes and to wrap +around other plunder. The cost of this palace amounted to millions of +dollars, and the blow was severely felt by the Chinese government. The +park is still worth a visit, but less so than before the destruction +of the palace.</p> + +<p>In the country around Pekin there are many private burying grounds +belonging to families; the Chinese do not, like ourselves, bury their +dead in common cemeteries, but each family has a plot of its own. +Sometimes a few families combine and own a place together; they +generally select a spot in a grove of trees, and make it as attractive +as possible. The Chinese are more careful of their resting places +after death than before it; a wealthy man will live in a miserable +hovel, but he looks forward to a commodious tomb beneath pretty shade +trees. The tender regard for the dead is an admirable trait in the +Chinese character, and springs, no doubt, from that filial piety which +is so deeply engraved on the Oriental mind.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg356-1.gif' id='lg356-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>COMFORTS AND CONVENIENCES.</p></div> +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg356-2.gif' id='lg356-2' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FILIAL AFFECTION.</p></div> + +<p>In Europe and America it is the custom not to mention coffins in +polite society, and the contemplation of one is always mournful. But +in China a coffin is a thing to be made a show of, like a piano. In +many houses there is a room set apart for the coffins of the members +of the family, and the owners point them out with pride. They practice +economy to lay themselves out better than their rivals, and sometimes +a man who has made a good thing by swindling or robbing somebody, will +use the profits in buying a coffin, just as an American would treat +himself to a gold watch or diamond pin. The most elegant gift that a +child can make to his sick father is a coffin that he has paid for out +of his own labor; it is not considered a hint to the old gentleman to +hand in his checks and get out of the way, but rather as a mark of +devotion which all good boys should imitate. The coffins are finely +ornamented, according to the circumstances of the owner, and I have +heard that sometimes a thief will steal a fine one and commit +suicide—first arranging with his friends to bury him in it before +his theft is discovered. If he is not found out he thinks he has made +a good thing of it.</p> + +<p>Whenever the Chinese sell ground for building purposes they always +stipulate for the removal of the bones of their ancestors for many +generations. The bones are carefully dug up and put in earthen jars, +when they are sealed up, labeled, and put away in a comfortable room, +as if they were so many pots of pickles and fruits. Every respectable +family in China has a liberal supply of potted ancestors on hand, but +would not part with them at any price.</p> + +<p>Nothing can surpass the calm resignation with which the Chinese part +with life. They die without groans, and have no mental terror at the +approach of death. Abbe Hue says that when they came for him to +administer the last sacraments to a dying convert, their formula of +saying that the danger was imminent, was in the words, “The sick man +does not smoke his pipe.”</p> + +<p>When a Chinese wishes to revenge himself upon another he furtively +places a corpse upon the property of his enemy. This subjects the man +on whose premises the body is found to many vexatious visits from the +officials, and also to claims on the part of the relations of the dead +man. The height of a joke of this kind is to commit suicide on another +man’s property in such a way as to appear to have been murdered there. +This will subject the unfortunate object of revenge to all sorts of +legal vexations, and not unfrequently to execution. Suicide for +revenge would be absurd in America, but is far from unknown at the +antipodes.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_357'></a> +<img src="images/sm357-1.gif" id='sm357-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—OPIUM PIPE" /></div> + + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2></div> + + +<p>It was my original intention to make a journey from Kiachta to Pekin +and back again, but the lateness of the season prevented me. I did not +wish to be caught in the desert of Gobi in winter. I talked with +several persons who had traversed Mongolia, and among them a gentleman +who had just arrived from the Chinese capital. I made many notes from +his recital which I found exceedingly interesting.</p> + +<p>For a time the Chinese refused passports to foreigners wishing to +cross Mongolia; but on finding their action was likely to cause +trouble, they gave the desired permission, though accompanying it with +an intimation that the privilege might be suspended at any time. The +bonds that unite Mongolia to the great empire are not very strong, the +natives being somewhat indifferent to their rulers and ready at any +decent provocation to throw off their yoke. Though engaged in the +peaceful pursuits of sheep-tending, and transporting freight between +Russia and China, they possess a warlike spirit and are capable of +being roused into violent action. They are proud of tracing their +ancestry to the soldiers that marched with Genghis Khan, and carried +his victorious banners into Central Europe; around their fires at +night no stories are more eagerly heard than those of war, and he who +can relate the most wonderful traditions of daring deeds may be +certain of admiration and applause.</p> + +<p>The first “outside barbarian,” other than Russians, who attempted this +overland journey, was a young French Count, who traveled in search of +adventure. Proceeding eastward from St. Petersburg, he reached Kiachta +in 1859. After some hesitation, the governor-general of Eastern +Siberia appointed him secretary to a Russian courier <i>en route</i> for +Pekin. He made the journey without serious hindrance, but on reaching +the Chinese capital his nationality was discovered, and he was forced +to return to Siberia.</p> + +<p>From Pekin the traveller destined for Siberia passes through the +northern gate amid clouds of dust or pools of mud, according as the +day of his exit is fair or stormy. He meets long strings of carts +drawn by mules, oxen, or ponies, carrying country produce of different +kinds to be digested in the great maw of the Imperial city. Animals +with pack-saddles, swaying under heavy burdens, swell the caravans, +and numerous equestrians, either bestriding their steeds, or sitting +sidewise in apparent carelessness, are constantly encountered. Now and +then an unruly mule causes a commotion in the crowd by a vigorous use +of his heels, and a watchful observer may see an unfortunate native +sprawling on the ground in consequence of approaching too near one of +the hybrid beasts. Chinese mules <i>will</i> kick as readily as their +American cousins; and I can say from experience, that their hoofs are +neither soft nor delicate. They can bray, too, in tones terribly +discordant and utterly destructive of sleep. The natives have a habit +of suppressing their music when it becomes positively unbearable, and +the means they employ may be worth notice. A Chinaman says a mule +cannot bray without elevating his tail to a certain height; so to +silence the beast he ties a stone to that ornamental appendage, and +depends upon the weight to shut off the sound. Out of compassion to +the mule, he attaches the stone so that it rests upon the ground and +makes no strain as long as the animal behaves himself.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg359-1.gif' id='lg359-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +A MUSICAL STOP. +</div> + +<p>A Chinese pack-mule will carry about four hundred pounds of dead +weight, if properly adjusted. The loads are not lashed on the animals’ +backs, but simply balanced; consequently, they must be very nicely +divided and arranged on each side of the saddles.</p> + +<p>On the road from Pekin the track is so wretched, and the carts so +roughly made, that journeying with wheeled vehicles is next to an +impossibility. Travelers go on horseback—if their circumstances +allow—and by way of comfort, especially if there be ladies in the +party, they generally provide themselves with mule-litters. The +mule-litter is a goodly-sized palanquin, not quite long enough for +lying at full length, but high enough to allow the passenger to sit +erect. There is a box or false flooring in the bottom, to accommodate +baggage in small parcels that can be easily stowed. A good litter has +the sides stuffed to save the occupant from bruises; and with plenty +of straw and a couple of pillows, he generally finds himself quite +comfortable. The body is fastened to two strong and flexible poles +that extend fore and aft far enough to serve as shafts for a couple of +mules. At the ends of the shafts their points are connected by stout +bands of leather that pass over the saddles of the respective mules; +each band is kept in place by an iron pin fixed in the top of the +saddle, and passing through a hole in the leather. As the shafts are +long enough to afford the animals plenty of walking room, there is a +good deal of spring to the concern, and the motion is by no means +disagreeable. Sometimes the bands slip from the shafts, and in such +case the machine comes to the ground with a disagreeable thump; if the +traveler happens to be asleep at the time he can easily imagine he is +being shot from a catapult.</p> + +<p>Just outside of Pekin there is a sandy plain, and beyond it a fine +stretch of country under careful cultivation, the principal cereal +being millet, that often stands ten or twelve feet high. Some cotton +is grown, but the region is too far north to render its culture +profitable.</p> + +<p>About twenty miles from Pekin is the village of Sha-ho, near two old +stone bridges that span a river now nearly dried away. The village is +a sort of half-way halting place between. Pekin and the Nankow pass, a +rocky defile twelve or fifteen miles long. The huge boulders and +angular fragments of stone have been somewhat worn down and smoothed +by constant use, though they are still capable of using up a good many +mule-hoofs annually. With an eye to business, a few traveling farriers +hang about this pass, and find occasional employment in setting shoes. +Chinese shoeing, considered as a fine art, is very much in its +infancy. Animals are only shod when the nature of the service requires +it; the farriers do not attempt to make shoes to order, but they keep +a stock of iron plates on hand, and select the nearest size they can +find. They hammer the plate a little to fit it to the hoof and then +fasten it on; an American blacksmith would be astonished at the +rapidity with which his Chinese brother performs his work.</p> + +<p>The pass of Nankow contains the remains of several old forts, which +were maintained in former times to protect China from Mongol +incursions. The natural position is a strong one, and a small force +could easily keep at bay a whole army. Just outside the northern +entrance of the pass there is a branch of one of the “Great Walls” of +China. It was built some time before <i>the</i> Great Wall. Foreigners +visiting Pekin and desiring to see the Great Wall are usually taken to +Nankow, and gravely told they have attained the object they seek. +Perhaps it is just as well for them to believe so, since they avoid a +journey of fifty miles farther over a rough road to reach the real +Great Wall; besides, the Chinese who have contracted to take them on +the excursion are able to make a nice thing of it, since they charge +as much for one place as for the other.</p> + +<p>The country for a considerable distance is dotted with old forts and +ruins, and the remains of extensive earthworks. Many battles were +fought here between the Chinese and the Mongols when Genghis Khan made +his conquest. For a long time the assailants were kept at bay, but one +fortress after another fell into their hands, and finally the capture +of the Nankow pass by Che-pee, one of Genghis Khan’s generals, laid +Pekin at their mercy.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg362-1.gif' id='xlg362-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>NANKOW PASS.</p></div> + +<p>There is a tradition that the loss of the first line of northern forts +was due to a woman. Intelligence was transmitted in those days by +means of beacon fires, and the signals were so arranged as to be +rapidly flashed through the empire. Once a lady induced the Emperor to +give the signal and summon his armies to the capital. The Mandarins +assembled with their forces, but on finding they had been simply +employed at the caprice of a woman, they returned angrily to their +homes. By-and-by the enemy came; the beacon fires were again lighted; +but this time the Mandarins did not heed the call for assistance.</p> + +<p>The Great Wall—the real one—crosses the road at Chan-kia-kow, a +large and scattered town lying in a broad valley, pretty well enclosed +by mountains. The Russians call the town Kalgan (gate), but the +natives never use any other than the Chinese name. In maps made from +Russian authorities, Kalgan appears, while in those taken from the +Chinese, the other appellation is used. Kalgan (I stick to the Russian +term, as more easily pronounced, though less correct) is the centre of +the transit trade from Pekin to Kiachta, and great quantities of tea +and other goods pass through it annually. Several Russians are +established there, and the town contains a population of Chinese from +various provinces of the empire, mingled with Mongols and Thibetans in +fair proportion. The religion is varied, and embraces adherents to all +the branches of Chinese theology, together with Mongol lamas and a +considerable sprinkling of Mahommedans. There are temples, +lamissaries, and mosques, according to the needs of the faithful; and +the Russian inhabitants have a chapel of their own, and are thus able +to worship according to their own faith. The mingling of different +tribes and kinds of people in a region where manners and morals are +not severely strict, has produced a result calculated to puzzle the +present or future ethnologist. Many of the merchants have grown +wealthy, and take life as comfortably as possible; they furnish their +houses in the height of Chinese style, and some of them have even sent +to Russia for the wherewith to astonish their neighbors.</p> + +<p>The Great Wall runs along the ridge of hills in a direction nearly +east and west; where it crosses the town it is kept in good repair, +but elsewhere it is very much in ruins, and could offer little +resistance to an enemy. Many of the towers remain, and some of them +are but little broken. They seem to have been better constructed than +the main portions of the wall, and, though useless against modern +weapons, were, no doubt, of importance in the days of their erection. +The Chinese must have held the Mongol hordes in great dread, to judge +by the labor expended to guard against incursions.</p> + +<p>As Kalgan is the frontier town between China and Mongolia, many +Mongols go there for all purposes, from trading down to loafing. They +bring their camels to engage in transporting goods across the desert, +and indulge in a great deal of traffic on their own account. They +drive cattle, sheep, and horses from their pastures farther north, and +sell them for local use, or for the market at Pekin. Mutton is the +staple article of food, and nearly always cheap and abundant. The +hillsides are covered with flocks, which often graze where nothing +else can live. In the autumn, immense numbers of sheep are driven to +Pekin, and sometimes the road is fairly blocked with them.</p> + +<p>Every morning there is a horse-fair on an open space just beyond the +Great Wall, and on its northern side. The modes of buying and selling +horses are very curious, and many of the tricks would be no discredit +to American jockeys. The horses are tied or held wherever their owners +can keep them, and in the centre of the fair grounds there is a space +where the beasts are shown off. They trot or gallop up and down the +course, their riders yelling as if possessed of devils, and holding +their whips high in air. These riders are generally Mongols; their +garments flutter like the decorations of a scarecrow in a morning +breeze, and their pig-tails, if not carefully triced up, stand out at +right angles like ships’ pennants in a northeast gale. Notwithstanding +all the confusion, it rarely happens that anybody is run over, though +there are many narrow escapes.</p> + + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg365-1.gif' id='xlg365-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RACING AT THE KALGAN FAIR.</p></div> + +<p>The fair is attended by two classes of people—those who want to trade +in horses, and those who don’t; between them they manage to assemble a +large crowd. There are always plenty of curbstone brokers, or +intermediaries, who hang around the fair to negotiate purchases and +sales. They have a way of conducting trades by drawing their long +sleeves over their hands, and making or receiving bids by means of the +concealed fingers. This mode of telegraphing is quite convenient when +secrecy is desired, and prevails in many parts of Asia. Taverneir and +other travelers say the diamond merchants conduct their transactions +in this manner, even when no one is present to observe them.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg366-1.gif' id='xlg366-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>STREET IN KALGAN.</p></div> + +<p>Unless arrangements have been made beforehand, it will be necessary to +spend three or four days at Kalgan in preparing for the journey over +the desert. Camels must be hired, carts purchased, baggage packed in +convenient parcels, and numerous odds and ends provided against +contingencies. Of course, there is generally something forgotten, even +after careful attention to present and prospective wants.</p> + +<p>But we are off at last. The start consumes the greater part of a day, +as it is best to have nothing done carelessly at the outset. The heavy +baggage is loaded upon the camels, the animals lying down and +patiently waiting while their cargoes are stowed. Pieces of felt cloth +are packed between and around their humps, to prevent injury from the +cords that sustain the bundles. The drivers display much ingenuity in +arranging the loads so that they shall be easily balanced, and the +sides of the beasts as little injured as possible. Spite of +precautions, the camels get ugly sores in their sides and backs, which +grow steadily worse by use. Occasionally their hoofs crack and fill +with sand, and when this occurs, their owner has no alternative but to +rest them a month or two, or risk losing their services altogether. +The principal travel over the desert is in the cold season. In the +autumn, the camels are fat, and their humps appear round and hard. +They are then steadily worked until spring, and very often get very +little to eat. As the camel grows thin, his humps fall to one side, +and the animal assumes a woe-begone appearance. In the spring, his +hair falls off; his naked skin wrinkles like a wet glove, and he +becomes anything but an attractive object.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm367-1.gif' id='sm367-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>IN GOOD CONDITION.</p></div> + +<p>As a beast of burden, the camel is better than for purposes of draft. +He can carry from six hundred to eight hundred pounds, if the load be +properly placed on his back; but when he draws a cart the weight must +be greatly diminished. In crossing Mongolia, heavy baggage is carried +on camels, but every traveler takes a cart for riding purposes, and +alternates between it and his saddle horse. The cart is a sort of +dog-house on two wheels; its frame is of wood, and has a covering of +felt cloth, thick enough to ward off a light fall of rain, and +embarrass a heavy one. It is barely high enough to allow a man to sit +erect, but not sufficiently long to enable him to lie at full length. +The body rests directly upon the axle, so that the passenger gets the +full benefit of every jolt. The camel walks between the shafts, and +his great body is the chief feature of the scenery when one looks +ahead. The harness gives way occasionally, and allows the shafts to +fall to the ground; when this happens, the occupant runs the risk of +being dumped among the ungainly feet that propel his vehicle. One +experience of this kind is more than satisfactory.</p> + +<p>After passing a range of low mountains north of Kalgan, the road +enters the table-land of Mongolia, elevated about five thousand feet +above the sea. The country opens into a series of plains and gentle +swells, not unlike the rolling prairies of Kansas and Nebraska, with +here and there a stretch of hills. Very often not a single tree is +visible, and the only stationary objects that break the monotony of +the scene are occasional yourts, or tents of the natives. All the way +along the road there are numerous trains of ox-carts, and sometimes +they form a continuous line of a mile or more. Those going southward +are principally laden with logs of wood from the valley of the Tolla, +about two hundred miles from the Siberian frontier. The logs are about +six or seven feet long, and their principal use is to be cut into +Chinese coffins. Many a gentleman of Pekin has been stowed in a coffin +whose wood grew in the middle of Mongolia; and possibly when our +relations with the empire become more intimate, we shall supply the +Chinese coffin market from the fine forests of our Pacific coast.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXII.</h2></div> + + +<p>North of Kalgan the native habitations are scattered irregularly over +the country wherever good water and grass abound. The Mongols are +generally nomadic, and consult the interest of their flocks and herds +in their movements. In summer they resort to the table-land, and stay +wherever fancy or convenience dictates; in winter they prefer the +valleys where they are partially sheltered from the sharp winds, and +find forage for their stock.</p> + +<p>The desert is not altogether a desert; it has a great deal of sand and +general desolation to the day’s ride, but is far from being a forsaken +region where a wolf could not make a living. Antelopes abound, and are +often seen in large droves as upon our Western plains; grouse will +afford frequent breakfasts to the traveler if he takes the trouble to +shoot them; there are wild geese, ducks, and curlew in the ponds and +marshes; and taken for all in all, the country might be much worse +than it is—which is bad enough.</p> + +<p>The flat or undulating country is, of course, monotonous. Sunset and +sunrise are not altogether unlike those events on the ocean, and if a +traveler wishes to feel himself quite at sea, he has only to wander +off and lose his camp or caravan. The natives make nothing of straying +out of sight, and seem to possess the instincts which have been often +noted in the American Indian. Without landmarks or other objects to +guide them, they rarely mistake their position, even at night, and can +estimate the extent of a day’s journey with surprising accuracy. Where +a stranger can see no difference between one square mile of desert and +a thousand others, the Mongol can distinguish it from all the rest, +though he may not be able to explain why. Perception is closely allied +to instinct, and as fast as we are developed and educated the more we +trust to acquired knowledge and the less to the unaided senses.</p> + +<p>Of course it is quite easy for a stranger to be lost in the Mongolian +desert beyond all hope of finding his way again, unless some one comes +to his aid. A Russian gentleman told me his experience in getting lost +there several years ago. “I used,” said he, “to have a fondness for +pursuing game whenever we sighted any, which was pretty often, and as +I had a couple of hardy ponies, I did a great deal of chasing. One +afternoon I saw a fine drove of antelopes, and set out in pursuit of +them. The chase led me further than I expected: the game was shy, and +I could not get near enough for a good shot; after a long pursuit I +gave up, and concluded to return to the road. Just as I abandoned the +chase the sun was setting. My notion of the direction I ought to go +was not entirely clear, as I had followed a very tortuous course in +pursuing the antelopes.</p> + +<p>“I was not altogether certain which way I turned when I left the road. +It was my impression that I went to the eastward and had been moving +away from the sun; so I turned my pony’s head in a westerly direction +and followed the ridges, which ran from east to west. Hour after hour +passed away, the stars came out clear and distinct in the sky, and +marked off the progress of the night as they, slowly moved from east +to west. I grew hungry, and thirsty, and longed most earnestly to +reach the caravan. My pony shared my uneasiness, and moved +impatiently, now endeavoring to go in one direction and now in +another. Thinking it possible that he might know the proper route +better than I, I gave him free rein, but soon found he was as much at +fault as myself. Then I fully realized I was lost in the desert.</p> + +<p>“Without compass or landmark to guide me, there was no use in further +attempts to find the caravan. Following the Mongol custom, I carried a +long rope attached to my saddle-bow, and with this I managed to +picket the pony where he could graze and satisfy his hunger. How I +envied his ability to eat the grass, which, though scanty, was quite +sufficient. I tried to sleep, but sleeping was no easy matter. First, +I had the consciousness of being lost. Then I was suffering from +hunger and thirst, and the night, like all the nights in Mongolia, +even in midsummer, was decidedly chilly, and as I had only my ordinary +clothing, the cold caused me to shiver violently. The few snatches of +sleep I caught were troubled with many dreams, none of them pleasant. +All sorts of horrible fancies passed through my brain, and I verily +believe that though I did not sleep half an hour in the whole night, +the incidents of my dreams were enough for a thousand years.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg371-1.gif' id='lg371-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>LOST IN THE DESERT OF GOBI.</p></div> + +<p>“Thoughts of being devoured by wild beasts haunted me, though in truth +I had little of this fate to fear. The only carnivorous beasts on the +desert are wolves, but as game is abundant, and can be caught with +ordinary exertion, they have no occasion to feed upon men. About +midnight my fears were roused by my pony taking alarm at the approach +of some wild beast. He snorted and pulled at his rope, and had it not +been for my efforts to soothe him, he would have broken away and fled. +I saw nothing and heard nothing, though I fancied I could discover +half a dozen dark forms on the horizon, and hear a subdued howl from +an animal I supposed to be a wolf.</p> + +<p>“Morning came. I was suffering from hunger, and more from thirst. My +throat was parched, my tongue was swollen, and there was a choking +sensation as if I were undergoing strangulation. How I longed for +water! Mounting my horse, I rode slowly along the ridge toward the +west, and after proceeding several miles, discovered a small lake to +my right. My horse scented it earlier than I, and needed no urging to +reach it. Dismounting, I bent over and drank from the edge, which was +marked with the tracks of antelopes, and of numerous aquatic birds. +The water was brackish and bitter, but I drank it with eagerness. My +thirst was satisfied, but the water gave me a severe pain in my +stomach, that soon became almost as unendurable as the previous +dryness. I stood for some minutes on the shore of the lake, and +preparing to remount my horse, the bridle slipped from my hand. Mongol +ponies are generally treacherous, and mine proved no exception to the +rule. Finding himself free, he darted off and trotted back the way we +had come.</p> + +<p>“I know that search would be made for me, and my hope now lay in some +one coming to the lake. It did not require long deliberation to +determine me to remain in the vicinity of the water. As long as I was +near it I could not perish of thirst; and moreover, the Mongols, who +probably knew of the lake, might be attracted here for water, and, if +looking for me, would be likely to take the lake in the way. Tying my +kerchief to my ramrod, which I fixed in the ground, I lay down on the +grass and slept, as near as I could estimate, for more than two hours.</p> + +<p>“Seeing some water-fowl a short distance away, I walked in their +direction, and luckily found a nest among the reeds, close to the +water’s edge. The six or eight eggs it contained were valuable prizes; +one I swallowed raw, and the others I carried to where I left my gun. +Gathering some of the dry grass and reeds, I built a fire and roasted +the eggs, which gave me a hearty meal. The worst of my hardships +seemed over. I had found water—bad water, it is true—but still it +was possible to drink it; by searching among the reeds I could find an +abundance of eggs; my gun could procure me game, and the reeds made a +passable sort of fuel. I should be discovered in a few days at +farthest, and I renewed my determination to remain near the lake.</p> + +<p>“The day passed without any incident to vary the monotony. Refreshed +by my meal and by a draught from a small pool of comparatively pure +water, I was able to sleep most of the afternoon, so as to keep awake +during the night, when exercise was necessary to warmth. About sunset +a drove of antelopes came near me, and by shooting one I added venison +to my bill of fare. In the night I amused myself with keeping my fire +alive, and listening to the noise of the birds that the unusual sight +threw into a state of alarm. On the following morning, as I lay on my +bed of reeds, a dozen antelopes, attracted by my kerchief fluttering +in the wind, stood watching me, and every few minutes approaching a +few steps. They were within easy shooting distance, but I had no +occasion to kill them. So I lay perfectly still, watching their +motions and admiring their beauty.</p> + +<p>“All at once, though I had not moved a muscle, they turned and ran +away. While I was wondering what could have disturbed them I heard the +shout of two Mongol horsemen, who were riding toward me, and leading +my pony they had caught a dozen miles away. A score of men from the +caravan had been in search of me since the morning after my +disappearance, and had ridden many a mile over the desert.”</p> + +<p>The Mongols are a strong, hardy, and generally good-natured race, +possessing the spirit of perseverance quite as much as the Chinese. +They have the free manners of all nomadic people, and are noted for +unvarying hospitality to visitors. Every stranger is welcome, and has +the best the host can give; the more he swallows of what is offered +him, the better will be pleased the household. As the native habits +are not especially cleanly, a fastidiously inclined guest has a +trying time of it. The staple dish of a Mongol yourt is boiled mutton, +but it is unaccompanied with capers or any other kind of sauce or +seasoning. A sheep goes to pot immediately on being killed, and the +quantity that each man will consume is something surprising. When the +meat is cooked it is lifted out of the hot water and handed, all +dripping and steamy, to the guests. Each man takes a large lump on his +lap, or any convenient support, and then cuts off little chunks which +he tosses into his mouth as if it were a mill-hopper. The best piece +is reserved for the guest of honor, who is expected to divide it with +the rest; after the meat is devoured they drink the broth, and this +concludes the meal. Knives and cups are the only aids to eating, and +as every man carries his own “outfit,” the Mongol dinner service is +speedily arranged. The entire work consists in seating the party +around a pot of cooked meat.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm374-1.gif' id='sm374-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>MONGOL DINNER TABLE.</p></div> + +<p>The desert is crossed by various ridges and small mountain chains, +that increase in frequency and make the country more broken as one +approaches the Tolla, the largest stream between Pekin and Kiachta. +The road, after traversing the last of these chains, suddenly reveals +a wide valley which bears evidence of fertility in its dense forests, +and the straggling fields which receive less attention than they +deserve.</p> + +<p>The Tolla has an ugly habit of rising suddenly and falling +deliberately. When at its height, the stream has a current of about +seven miles an hour, and at the fording place the water is over the +back of an ordinary pony. The bottom of the river consists of large +boulders of all sizes from an egg up to a cotton bale, and the footing +for both horses and camels is not specially secure. The camels need a +good deal of persuasion with clubs before they will enter the water; +they have an instinctive dread of that liquid and avoid it whenever +they can. Horses are less timorous, and the best way to get a camel +through the ford is to lead him behind a horse and pound him +vigorously at the same time. When the river is at all dangerous there +is always a swarm of natives around the ford ready to lend a hand if +suitably compensated. They all talk very much and in loud tones; their +voices mingle with the neighing of horses, the screams of camels, the +roaring of the river, and the laughter of the idlers when any mishap +occurs. The confused noises are in harmony with the scene on either +bank, where baggage is piled promiscuously, and the natives are +grouped together in various picturesque attitudes. Men with their +lower garments rolled as high as possible, or altogether discarded, +walk about in perfect nonchalance; their queues hanging down their +backs seem designed as rudders to steer the wearers across the stream.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg375-1.gif' id='xlg375-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>CROSSING THE TOLLA</p></div> + +<p>About two miles from the ford of the Tolla there is a Chinese +settlement, which forms a sort of suburb to the Mongol town of Urga. +The Mongols have no great friendship for the Chinese inhabitants, who +are principally engaged in traffic and the various occupations +connected with the transport of goods. Between this suburb and the +main town the Russians have a large house, which is the residence of a +consul and some twenty or thirty retainers. The policy of maintaining +a consulate there can only be explained on the supposition that Russia +expects and intends to appropriate a large slice of Mongolia whenever +opportunity offers. She has long insisted that the chain of mountains +south of Urga was the “natural boundary,” and her establishment of an +expensive post at that city enables her to have things ready whenever +a change occurs. In the spirit of annexation and extension of +territory the Russians can fairly claim equal rank with ourselves. I +forget their phrase for “manifest destiny,” and possibly they may not +be willing that I should give it.</p> + +<p>Urga is not laid out in streets like most of the Chinese towns; its +by-ways and high-ways are narrow and crooked, and form a network very +puzzling to a stranger. The Chinese and Russian settlers live in +houses, and there are temples and other permanent buildings, but the +Mongols live generally in yourts, which they prefer to more extensive +structures. Most of the Mongol traffic is conducted in a large +esplanade, where you can purchase anything the country affords, and at +very fair prices.</p> + +<p>The principal feature of Urga is the lamissary or convent where a +great many lamas or holy men reside. I have heard the number estimated +at fifteen thousand, but cannot say if it be more or less. The +religion of the Mongols came originally from Thibet, by direct +authority of the Grand Lama, but a train of circumstances which I have +not space to explain, has made it virtually independent. The Chinese +government maintains shrewd emissaries among these lamas, and thus +manages to control the Mongols and prevent their setting up for +themselves. As a further precaution it has a lamissary at Pekin, where +it keeps two thousand Mongol lamas at its own expense. In this way it +is able to influence the nomads of the desert, and in case of trouble +it would possess a fair number of hostages for an emergency.</p> + +<p>About the year 1205 the great battle between Timoujin and the +sovereign then occupying the Mongol throne was fought a short distance +from Urga. The victory was decisive for the former, who thus became +Genghis Khan and commenced that career of conquest which made his name +famous.</p> + +<p>Great numbers of devotees from all parts of Mongolia visit Urga every +year, the journey there having something of the sacred character which +a Mahommedan attaches to a pilgrimage to Mecca. The people living at +Urga build fences around their dwellings to protect their property +from the thieves who are in large proportion among the pious +travelers.</p> + +<p>From Urga to the Siberian frontier the distance is less than two +hundred miles; the Russian couriers accomplish it in fifty or sixty +hours when not delayed by accidents, but the caravans require from +four to eight days. There is a system of relays arranged by the +Chinese so that one can travel very speedily if he has proper +authority. Couriers have passed from Kiachta to Pekin in ten or +twelve days; but the rough road and abominable carts make them feel at +their journey’s end about as if rolled through a patent +clotheswringer. A mail is carried twice a month each way by the +Russians. Several schemes have been proposed for a trans-Mongolian +telegraph, but thus far the Chinese government has refused to permit +its construction.</p> + +<p>The desert proper is finished before one reaches the mountains +bordering the Tolla; after crossing that stream and leaving Urga the +road passes through a hilly country, sprinkled, it is true, with a +good many patches of sand, but having plenty of forest and frequently +showing fertile valleys. These valleys are the favorite resorts of the +Mongol shepherds and herdsmen, some of whom count their wealth by many +thousand animals. In general, Mongolia is not agricultural, both from +the character of the country and the disposition of the people. A few +tribes in the west live by tilling the soil in connection with stock +raising, but I do not suppose they take kindly to the former +occupation. The Mongols engaged in the caravan service pass a large +part of their lives on the road, and are merry as larks over their +employment. They seem quite analogous to the teamsters and +miscellaneous “plainsmen” who used to play an important part on our +overland route.</p> + +<p>A large proportion of the men engaged in this transit service are +lamas, their sacred character not excusing them, as many suppose, from +all kinds of employment. Many lamas are indolent and manage in some +way to make a living without work, but this is by no means the +universal character of the holy men. About one-fifth of the male +population belong to the religious order, so that there are +comparatively few families which do not have a member or a relative in +the pale of the church. If not domiciled in a convent or blessed by +fortune in some way, the lama turns his hand to labor, though he is +able at the same time to pick up occasional presents for professional +service. Many of them act as teachers or schoolmasters. Theoretically +he cannot marry any more than a Romish priest, but his vows of +celibacy are not always strictly kept. One inconvenience under which +he labors is in never daring to kill anything through fear that what +he slaughters may contain the soul of a relative, and possibly that of +the divine Bhudda. A lama will purchase a sheep on which he expects to +dine, and though fully accessory before and after the fact, he does +not feel authorized to use the knife with his own hand. Even should he +be annoyed by fleas or similar creeping things (if it were a township +or city the lama’s body could return a flattering census,) he must +bear the infliction until patience is thoroughly exhausted. At such +times he may call an unsanctified friend and subject himself and +garments to a thorough examination.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg379-1.gif' id='xlg379-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE SCHOOLMASTER.</p></div> + +<p>Every lama carries with him a quantity of written prayers, which he +reads or recites, and the oftener they are repeated the greater is +their supposed efficacy. Quantity is more important than quality, and +to facilitate matters they frequently have a machine, which consists +of a wheel containing a lot of prayers. Sometimes it is turned by hand +and sometimes attached to a wind-mill; the latter mode being +preferred.</p> + +<p>Abbe Hue and others have remarked a striking similarity between the +Bhuddist and Roman Catholic forms of worship and the origin of the two +religions. Hue infers that Bhuddism was borrowed from Christianity; on +the other hand, many lamas declare that the reverse is the case. The +question has caused a great deal of discussion first and last, but +neither party appears disposed to yield.</p> + +<p>The final stretch of road toward the Siberian frontier is across a +sandy plain, six or eight miles wide. On emerging from the hills at +its southern edge the dome of the church in Kiachta appears in sight, +and announces the end of Mongolian travel. No lighthouse is more +welcome to a mariner than is the view of this Russian town to a +traveler who has suffered the hardships of a journey from Pekin.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_380'></a> +<img src="images/sm380-1.gif" id='sm380-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>The week I remained at Kiachta was a time of festivity from beginning +to end. I endeavored to write up my journal but was able to make +little more than rough notes. The good people would have been +excusable had they not compelled me to drink so much excellent +champagne. The amiable merchants of Kiachta are blessed with such +capacities for food and drink that they do not think a guest satisfied +until he has swallowed enough to float a steamboat.</p> + +<p>I found an excellent <i>compagnon du voyage</i>, and our departure was +fixed for the evening after the dinner with Mr. Pfaffius. A change +from dinner dress to traveling costume was speedily made, and I was +<i>gotovey</i> when my friend arrived with several officers to see us off. +About eight o’clock we took places in my tarantass, and drove out of +the northern gate of Troitskosavsk.</p> + +<p>My traveling companion was Mr. Richard Maack, Superintendent of Public +Instruction in Eastern Siberia. He was just finishing a tour among the +schools in the Trans-Baikal province, and during fourteen years of +Siberian life, he had seen a variety of service. He accompanied +General Mouravieff oil the first expedition down the Amoor, and wrote +a detailed account of his journey. Subsequently he explored the +Ousuree in the interest of the Russian Geographical Society. He said +that his most arduous service was in a winter journey to the valley of +the Lena, and along the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The temperature +averaged lower than in Dr. Kane’s hibernation on the coast of +Greenland, and once remained at -60° for nearly three weeks. Of five +persons comprising the party, Maack is the only survivor. One of his +companions fell dead in General Mouravieff’s parlor while giving his +account of the exploration.</p> + +<p>We determined to be comfortable on the way to Irkutsk. We put our +baggage in a telyaga with Maack’s servant and took the tarantass to +ourselves. The road was the same I traveled from Verkne Udinsk to +Kiachta, crossing the Selenga at Selenginsk. We slept most of the +first night, and timed our arrival at Selenginsk so as to find the +school in session. During a brief halt while the smotretal prepared +our breakfast, Maack visited the school-master at his post of duty.</p> + +<p>Over the hills behind a lake about a day’s ride from Selenginsk there +is a Bouriat village of a sacred character. It is the seat of a large +temple or lamisary whence all the Bouriats in Siberia receive their +religious teachings. A grand lama specially commissioned by the great +chief of the Bhuddist faith at Thibet, presides over the lamisary. He +is supposed to partake of the immortal essence of Bhudda, and when his +body dies, his spirit enters a younger person who becomes the lama +after passing a certain ordeal.</p> + +<p>The village is wholly devoted to religious purposes, and occupied +exclusively by Bouriats. I was anxious to visit it, but circumstances +did not favor my desires.</p> + +<p>We made both crossings of the Selenga on the ice without difficulty. +It was only a single day from the time the ferry ceased running until +the ice was safe for teams. We reached Verkne Udinsk late in the +evening, and drove to a house where my companion had friends. The good +lady brought some excellent nalifka of her own preparation, and the +more we praised it the more she urged us to drink. What with tea, +nalifka, and a variety of solid food, we were pretty well filled +during a halt of two hours.</p> + +<p>It was toward midnight when we emerged from the house to continue our +journey. Maack found his tarantass at Verkne Udinsk, and as it was +larger and better than mine we assigned the latter to Evan and the +baggage, and took the best to ourselves. Evan was a Yakut whom my +friend brought from the Lena country. He was intelligent and active, +and assisted greatly to soften the asperities of the route. With my +few words of Russian, and his quick comprehension, we understood each +other very well.</p> + +<p>During the first few hours from Verkne Udinsk the sky was obscured and +the air warm. My furs were designed for cold weather, and their weight +in the temperature then prevailing threw me into perspiration. In my +dehar I was unpleasantly warm, and without it I shivered. I kept +alternately opening and closing the garment, and obtained very little +sleep up to our arrival at the first station. While we were changing +horses the clouds blew away and the temperature fell several degrees. +Under the influence of the cold I fell into a sound sleep, and did not +heed the rough, grater-like surface of the recently frozen road.</p> + +<p>From Verkne Udinsk to Lake Baikal, the road follows the Selenga +valley, which gradually widens as one descends it. The land appears +fertile and well adapted to farming purposes but only a small portion +is under cultivation. The inhabitants are pretty well rewarded for +their labor if I may judge by the appearance of their farms and +villages. Until reaching Ilyensk, I found the cliffs and mountains +extending quite near the river. In some places the road is cut into +the rocks in such a way as to afford excitement to a nervous traveler.</p> + +<p>The villages were numerous and had an air of prosperity. Here and +there new houses were going up, and made quite a contrast to the old +and decaying habitations near them. My attention was drawn to the +well-sweeps exactly resembling those in the rural districts of New +England. From the size of the sweeps, I concluded the wells were deep. +The soil in the fields had a loose, friable appearance that reminded +me of the farming lands around Cleveland, Ohio.</p> + +<p>One of the villages where we changed horses is called Kabansk from the +Russian word ‘<i>Kaban</i>’ (wild boar). This animal abounds in the +vicinity and is occasionally hunted for sport. The chase of the wild +boar is said to be nearly as dangerous as that of the bear, the brute +frequently turning upon his pursuer and making a determined fight. We +passed the Monastery of Troitska founded in 1681 for the conversion of +the Bouriats. It is an imposing edifice built like a Russian church in +the middle of a large area surrounded by a high wall. Though it must +have impressed the natives by its architectural effects it was +powerless to change their faith.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg384-1.gif' id='lg384-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>WILD BOAR HUNT.</p></div> + +<p>As it approaches Lake Baikal the Selenga divides into several +branches, and encloses a large and very fertile delta. The afternoon +following our departure from Verkne Udinsk, we came in sight of the +lake, and looked over the blue surface of the largest body of fresh +water in Northern Asia. The mountains on the western shore appeared +about eight or ten miles away, though they were really more than +thirty. We skirted the shore of the lake, turning our horses’ heads to +the southward. The clear water reminded me of Lake Michigan as one +sees it on approaching Chicago by railway from the East. Its waves +broke gently on a pebbly beach, where the cold of commencing winter +had changed much of the spray to ice.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm385-1.gif' id='sm385-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A WIFE AT IRKUTSK</p></div> + +<p>There was no steamer waiting at Posolsky, but we were told that one +was hourly expected. Maack was radiant at finding a letter from his +wife awaiting him at the station. I enquired for letters but did not +obtain any. Unlike my companion. I had no wife at Irkutsk.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/sm385-2.gif' id='sm385-2' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>NO WIFE AT IRKUTSK.</p></div> + +<p>The steamboat landing is nine versts below the town, and as the post +route ended at Posolsky, we were obliged to engage horses at a high +rate, to take us to the port. The alternate freezing and thawing of +the road—its last act was to freeze—had rendered it something like +the rough way in a Son-of-Malta Lodge. The agent assured us the +steamer would arrive during the night. Was there ever a steamboat +agent who did not promise more than his employers performed?</p> + +<p>According to the tourist’s phrase the port of Posolsky can be ‘done’ +in about five minutes. The entire settlement comprised two buildings, +one a hotel, and the other a storehouse and stable. A large quantity +of merchandise was piled in the open air, and awaited removal.</p> + +<p>It included tea from Kiachta, and vodki or native whiskey from +Irkutsk. There are several distilleries in the Trans-Baikal province, +but they are unable to meet the demand in the country east of the +lake. From what I saw <i>in transitu</i> the consumption must be enormous. +The government has a tax on vodki equal to about fifty cents a gallon, +which is paid by the manufacturers. The law is very strict, and the +penalties are so great that I was told no one dared attempt an evasion +of the excise duties, except by bribing the collector.</p> + +<p>The hotel was full of people waiting for the boat, and the +accommodations were quite limited. We thought the tarantass preferable +to the hotel, and retired early to sleep in our carriage. A teamster +tied his horses to our wheels, and as the brutes fell to kicking +during the night, and attempted to break away, they disturbed our +slumbers. I rose at daybreak and watched the yemshicks making their +toilet. The whole operation was performed by tightening the girdle and +rubbing the half-opened eyes.</p> + +<p>Morning brought no boat. There was nothing very interesting after we +had breakfasted, and as we might be detained there a whole week, the +prospect was not charming. We organized a hunting excursion, Maack +with his gun and I with my revolver. I assaulted the magpies which +were numerous and impertinent, and succeeded in frightening them. +Gulls were flying over the lake; Maack desired one for his cabinet at +Irkutsk, but couldn’t get him. He brought down an enormous crow, and +an imprudent hawk that pursued a small bird in our vicinity. His last +exploit was in shooting a partridge which alighted, strange to say, on +the roof of the hotel within twenty feet of a noisy crowd of +yemshicks. The bird was of a snowy whiteness, the Siberian partridge +changing from brown to white at the beginning of winter, and from +white to brown again as the snow disappears.</p> + +<p>A “soudna” or sailing barge was anchored at the entrance of a little +bay, and was being filled with tea to be transported to Irkutsk. The +soudna is a bluff-bowed, broad sterned craft, a sort of cross between +Noah’s Ark and a Chinese junk. It is strong but not elegant, and might +sail backward or sidewise nearly as well as ahead. Its carrying +capacity is great in proportion to its length, as it is very wide and +its sides rise very high above the water. Every soudna I saw had but +one mast which carried a square sail. These vessels can only sail +with the wind, and then not very rapidly. An American pilot boat could +pass a thousand of them without half trying.</p> + +<p>About noon we saw a thin wreath of smoke betokening the approach of +the steamer. In joy at this welcome sight we dined and bought tickets +for the passage, ours of the first class being printed in gold, while +Evan’s billet for the deck was in Democratic black. It cost fifteen +roubles for the transport of each tarantass, but our baggage was taken +free, and we were not even required to unload it.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm387-1.gif' id='sm387-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A SOUDNA.</p></div> + +<p>There is no wharf at Posolsky and no harbor, the steamers anchoring in +the open water half a mile from shore. Passengers, mails, and baggage +are taken to the steamer in large row boats, while heavy freight is +carried in soudnas. The boat that took us brought a convoy of exiles +before we embarked. They formed a double line at the edge of the lake +where they were closely watched by their guards. When we reached the +steamer we found another party of prisoners waiting to go on shore. +All were clad in sheepskin pelisses and some carried extra garments. +Several women and children accompanied the party, and I observed two +or three old men who appeared little able to make a long journey. One +sick man too feeble to walk, was supported by his guards and his +fellow prisoners.</p> + +<p>Though there was little wind, and that little blew from shore, the +boat danced uneasily on the waves. Our carriages came off on the last +trip of the boat, and were hoisted by means of a running tackle on one +of the steamer’s yards.</p> + +<p>While our embarkation was progressing a crew of Russians and Bouriats +towed the now laden soudna to a position near our stern. When all was +ready, we took her hawser, hoisted our anchor and steamed away. For +some time I watched the low eastern shore of the lake until it +disappeared in the distance. Posolsky has a monastery built on the +spot where a Russian embassador with his suite was murdered by +Bouriats about the year 1680. The last objects I saw behind me were +the walls, domes, and turrets of this monastery glistening in the +afternoon sunlight. They rose clear and distinct on the horizon, an +outwork of Christianity against the paganism of Eastern Asia.</p> + +<p>The steamer was the <i>Ignalienif</i>, a side wheel boat of about 300 tons. +Her model was that of an ocean or coasting craft, she had two masts, +and could spread a little sail if desired. Her engines were built at +Ekaterineburg in the Ural Mountains, and hauled overland 2500 miles. +She and her sister boat, the <i>General Korsackoff</i>, are very profitable +to their owners during the months of summer. They carry passengers, +mails, and light freight, and nearly always have one or two soudnas in +tow. Their great disadvantage at present is the absence of a port on +the eastern shore.</p> + +<p>The navigation of Lake Baikal is very difficult. Storms arise with +little warning, and are often severe. At times the boats are obliged +to remain for days in the middle of the lake as they cannot always +make the land while a gale continues. There was very little breeze +when we crossed, but the steamer was tossed quite roughly. The winds +blowing from the mountains along the lake, frequently sweep with great +violence and drive unlucky soudnas upon the rocks.</p> + +<p>The water of the lake is so clear that one can see to a very great +depth. The lake is nearly four hundred miles long by about thirty or +thirty-five in width; it is twelve hundred feet above the sea level, +and receives nearly two hundred tributaries great and small. Its +outlet, the Angara, is near the southwestern end, and is said to carry +off not more than a tenth of the water that enters the lake. What +becomes of the surplus is a problem no one has been able to solve. The +natives believe there is an underground passage to the sea, and sonic +geologists favor this opinion. Soundings of 2000 feet have been made +without finding bottom. On the western shore the mountains rise +abruptly from the water, and in some places no bottom has been found +at 400 feet depth, within pistol shot of the bank. This fact renders +navigation dangerous, as a boat might be driven on shore in even a +light breeze before her anchors found holding ground.</p> + +<p>The natives have many superstitions concerning Lake Baikal. In their +language it is the “Holy Sea,” and it would be sacrilege to term it a +lake. Certainly it has several marine peculiarities. Gulls and other +ocean birds frequent its shores, and it is the only body of fresh +water on the globe where the seal abounds. Banks of coral like those +in tropical seas exist in its depths.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg389-1.gif' id='xlg389-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE.</p></div> + +<p>The mountains on the western shore are evidently of volcanic origin, +and earthquakes are not unfrequent. A few years ago the village of +Stepnoi, about twenty miles from the mouth of the Selenga, was +destroyed by an earthquake. Part of the village disappeared beneath +the water while another part after sinking was lifted twenty or thirty +feet above its original level. Irkutsk has been frequently shaken at +the foundations, and on one occasion the walls of its churches were +somewhat damaged. Around Lake Baikal there are several hot springs, +some of which attract fashionable visitors from Irkutsk during the season.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg390-1.gif' id='xlg390-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>LAKE BAIKAL IN WINTER</p></div> + +<p>The natives say nobody was ever lost in Lake Baikal. When a person is +drowned there the waves invariably throw his body on shore.</p> + +<p>The lake does not freeze until the middle of December, and sometimes +later. Its temperature remains pretty nearly the same at all seasons, +about 48° Fahrenheit. In winter it is crossed on the ice, the passage +ordinarily occupying about five hours. The lake generally freezes when +the air is perfectly still so that the surface is of glossy smoothness +until covered with snow. A gentleman in Irkutsk described to me his +feelings when he crossed Lake Baikal in winter for the first time. The +ice was six feet thick, but so perfectly transparent that he seemed +driving over the surface of the water. The illusion was complete, and +not wholly dispelled when he alighted. “Starting from the western +side, the opposite coast was not visible, and I experienced” said my +friend, “the sensation of setting out in a sleigh to cross the +Atlantic from Liverpool to New York.”</p> + +<p>In summer and in winter communication is pretty regular, but there is +a suspension of travel when the ice is forming, and another when it +breaks up. This causes serious inconvenience, and has led the +government to build a road around the southern extremity of the lake. +The mountains are lofty and precipitous, and the work is done at vast +expense. The road winds over cliffs and crags sometimes near the lake +and again two thousand feet above it. Largo numbers of peasants, +Bouriats, and prisoners have been employed there for several years, +but the route was not open for wheeled vehicles at the time I crossed +the lake.</p> + +<p>One mode of cutting the road through the mountains was to build large +bonfires in winter when the temperature was very low. The heat caused +the rock to crack so that large masses could be removed, but the +operation was necessarily slow. The insurrection of June, 1866, +occurred on this road.</p> + +<p>Formerly a winter station was kept on the ice half-way across the +lake. By a sudden thaw at the close of one winter the men and horses +of a station were swallowed up, and nothing was known of them until +weeks afterward, when their bodies were washed ashore. Since this +catastrophe the entire passage of the lake, about forty miles, is made +without change of horses.</p> + +<p>We left Posolsky and enjoyed a sunset on the lake. The mountains rise +abruptly on the western and southeastern shores, and many of their +snow covered peaks were beautifully tinged by the fading sunlight. The +illusion regarding distances was difficult to overcome, and could only +be realized by observing how very slowly we neared the mountains we +were approaching. The atmosphere was of remarkable purity, and its +powers of refraction reminded me of past experience in the Rocky +Mountains. We had sunset and moon-rise at once. ‘Adam had no more in +Eden save the head of Eve upon his shoulder.’</p> + +<p>The boat went directly across and then followed the edge of the lake +to Listvenichna, our point of debarkation. There was no table on +board. We ordered the samovar, made our own tea, and supped from the +last of our commissary stores. Our fellow passengers in the cabin were +two officers traveling to Irkutsk, and a St. Petersburg merchant who +had just finished the Amoor Company’s affairs. We talked, ate, drank, +smoked, and slept during the twelve hours’ journey.</p> + +<p>Congratulate us on our quick passage! On her very next voyage the +steamer was eight days on the lake, the wind blowing so that she could +not come to either shore. To be cooped on this dirty and ill-provided +boat long enough to cross the Atlantic is a fate I hope never to +experience.</p> + +<p>There is a little harbor at Listvenichna and we came alongside a +wharf. Maack departed with our papers to procure horses, and left me +to look at the vanishing crowd. Take the passengers from the steerage +of a lake or river steamer in America, dress them in sheepskin coats +and caps, let them talk a language you cannot understand, and walk +them into a cloud of steam as if going overboard in a fog, and you +have a passable reproduction of the scene. A bright fire should be +burning on shore to throw its contrast of light and shadow over the +surroundings and heighten the picturesque effect.</p> + +<p>Just as the deck hands were rolling our carriages on shore my +companion returned, and announced our horses ready. We sought a little +office near the head of the wharf where the chief of the ‘<i>tamojna</i>’ +(custom house) held his court. This official was known to Mr. Maack, +and on our declaring that we had no dutiable effects we were passed +without search.</p> + +<p>As before remarked all the country east of Lake Baikal is open to free +trade. This result has been secured by the efforts of the present +governor general of Eastern Siberia. Under his liberal and enlightened +policy he has done much to break down the old restrictions and develop +the resources of a country over which he holds almost autocratic +power. It was about three in the morning when we started over the +frozen earth. Two miles from the landing we reached the custom house +barrier where a pole painted with the government colors stretched +across the road. Presenting our papers from the chief officer we were +not detained. On the steamer when we were nearing harbor our +conversation turned upon the custom house. It was positively asserted +that the officials were open to pecuniary compliments, much, I presume +like those in other lands. The gentleman from the Amoor had +considerable baggage, and prepared a five rouble note to facilitate +his business. Evidently he gave too little or did not bribe the right +man, as I left him vainly imploring to be let alone in the centre of a +pile of open baggage, like Marius in the ruins of Carthage.</p> + +<p>The road follows the right bank of the Angara from the point where it +leaves the lake. The current here is very strong, and the river rushes +and breaks like the rapids of the St. Lawrence. For several miles from +its source it never freezes even in the coldest winters. During the +season of ice this open space is the resort of many waterfowl, and is +generally enveloped in a cloud of mist. At the head of the river rises +a mass of rock known as <i>Shaman Kamen</i> (spirit’s rock). It is held in +great veneration by the natives, and is believed to be the abode of a +spirit who constantly overlooks the lake. When shamanism prevailed in +this region many human sacrifices were made at the sacred rock. The +most popular method was by tying the hands of the victim and tossing +him into the ‘hell of waters’ below.</p> + +<p>Many varieties of fish abound in the lake, and ascend its tributary +rivers. The fishery forms quite a business for the inhabitants of the +region, who find a good market at Irkutsk. The principal fish taken +are two or three varieties of sturgeon, the herring, pike, carp, the +<i>askina</i>, and a white fish called <i>tymain</i>. There is a remarkable fish +consisting of a mass of fat that burns like a candle and melts away in +the heat of the sun or a fire. It is found dead on the shores of the +lake after violent storms. A live one has never been seen.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm394-1.gif' id='sm394-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A SPECIMEN.</p></div> + +<p>The distance to Irkutsk from our landing was about forty miles, and we +hoped to arrive in time for breakfast. A snow storm began about +dayliglit, so that I did not see much of the wooded valley of the +river. We met a train of sixty or seventy carts, each carrying a cask +of vodki. This liquid misery was on its way to the Trans-Baikal, and +the soudna which brought a load of tea would carry vodki as a return +cargo.</p> + +<p>The clouds thinned and broke, the snow ceased falling, and the valley +became distinct. While I admired its beauty, we reached the summit of +a hill and I saw before me a cluster of glittering domes and turrets, +rising from a wide bend in the Angara. At first I could discern only +churches, but very soon I began to distinguish the streets, avenues, +blocks, and houses of a city. We entered Irkutsk through its eastern +gate, and drove rapidly along a wide street, the busiest I had yet +seen in Asiatic Russia.</p> + +<p>Just as the sun burst in full splendor through the departing clouds, I +alighted in the capital of Oriental Siberia, half around the world +from my own home.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_395'></a> +<img src="images/sm395-1.gif" id='sm395-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—THE WORLD" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXIV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXIV.</h2></div> + + +<p>As we entered the city a Cossack delivered a letter announcing that I +was to be handed over to the police, who had a lodging ready for me. +On learning of my presence at Kiachta the Governor General kindly +requested an officer of his staff to share his rooms with me. Captain +Paul, with whom I was quartered, occupied pleasant apartments +overlooking the <i>gastinni-dvor</i>. He was leading a bachelor life in a +suite of six rooms, and had plenty of space at my disposal. That I +might lose no time, the Chief of Police stationed the Cossack with a +letter telling me where to drive.</p> + +<p>I removed the dust and costume of travel as soon as possible, and +prepared to pay my respects to the Governor General. My presentation +was postponed to the following day, and as the Russian etiquette +forbade my calling on other officials before I had seen the chief, +there was little to be done in the matter of visiting.</p> + +<p>The next morning I called upon General Korsackoff, delivered my +letters of introduction, and was most cordially welcomed to Irkutsk. +The Governor General of Eastern Siberia controls a territory larger +than all European Russia, and much of it is not yet out of its +developing stage. He has a heavy responsibility upon his shoulders in +leading his subjects in the way best for their interests and those of +the crown. Much has been done under the energetic administration of +General Korsackoff and his predecessor, and there is room to +accomplish much more. The general has ably withstood the cares and +hardships of his Siberian life. He is forty-five years of age, active +and vigorous, and capable of doing much before his way of life is +fallen into the sere and yellow leaf. Like Madame De Stael, he +possesses the power of putting visitors entirely at their ease. To my +single countrywomen I will whisper that General Korsackoff is of about +medium height, has a fair complexion, blue eyes, and Saxon hair, and a +face which the most crabbed misanthrope could not refuse to call +handsome. He is unmarried, and if rumor tells the truth, not under +engagement.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg397-1.gif' id='lg397-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>GOV. GEN’L KORSACKOFF.</p></div> + +<p>The Governor General lives in a spacious and elegant house on the bank +of the Angara, built by a merchant who amassed an immense fortune in +the Chinese trade. On retiring from business he devoted his time and +energies to constructing the finest mansion in Eastern Siberia. It is +a stone building of three stories, and its halls and parlors are of +liberal extent. Furniture was brought from St. Petersburg at enormous +cost, and the whole establishment was completed without regard to +expense. At the death of its builder the house was purchased by +government, and underwent a few changes to adapt it to its official +occupants. On the opposite bank of the river there is a country seat, +the private property of General Korsackoff, and his dwelling place in +the hot months.</p> + +<p>It was my good fortune that Mr. Maack was obliged by etiquette to +visit his friends on returning from his journey. I arranged to +accompany him, and during that day and the next we called upon many +persons of official and social position. These included the Governor +and Vice Governor of Irkutsk, the chief of staff and heads of +departments, the mayor of the city, and the leading merchants. +Succeeding days were occupied in receiving return visits, and when +these were ended I was fairly a member of the society of the Siberian +capital.</p> + +<p>The evening after my arrival I returned early to my lodgings to +indulge in a Russian bath. Captain Paul was absent, but his servant +managed to inform me by words and pantomime that all was ready. On the +captain’s return the man said he had told me in German that the bath +was waiting.</p> + +<p>“How did you speak German?” asked the captain, aware that his man knew +nothing but Russian.</p> + +<p>“Oh,” said the servant, “I rubbed my hands over my face and arms and +pointed toward the bath-room.”</p> + +<p>On the morning after my arrival the proprietor of the house asked for +my passport; when it returned it bore the visa of the chief of police. +There is a regulation throughout Russia that every hotel keeper or +other householder shall register his patrons with the police. By this +means the authorities can trace the movements of ‘<i>suspects</i>’ and +prevent unlicensed travel. In Siberia the plan is particularly +valuable in keeping exiles on the spots assigned them.</p> + +<p>At St. Petersburg and Moscow the police keep a directory and hold it +open to the public. When I reached the capital and wished to find some +friends who arrived a few days before me, I obtained their address +from this directory. Those who sought my whereabouts found me in the +same way.</p> + +<p>The weather was steadily cold—about zero Fahrenheit—and was called +mild for the season by the residents of Irkutsk. I brought from New +York a heavy overcoat that braved the storms of Broadway the winter +before my departure. My Russian friends pronounced it <i>nechevo</i> +(nothing,) and advised me to procure a ‘<i>shooba,</i>’ or cloak lined with +fur. The shooba reaches nearly to one’s feet, and is better adapted to +riding than walking. It can be lined according to the means and +liberality of the wearer. Sable is most expensive, and sheepskin the +least. Both accomplish the same end, as they contain about equal +quantities of heat.</p> + +<p>The streets of Irkutsk are of good width and generally intersect at +right angles. Most of the buildings are of wood, and usually large and +well built. The best houses are of stone, or of brick covered with +plaster to resemble stone. Very few dwellings are entered directly +from the street, the outer doors opening into yards according to the +Russian custom. To visit a person you pass into an enclosure through a +strong gateway, generally open by day but closed at night. A +‘<i>dvornik</i>’ (doorkeeper) has the control of this gate, and is +responsible for everything within it. Storehouses and all other +buildings of the establishment open upon the enclosure, and frequently +two or more houses have one gate in common.</p> + +<p>The stores or magazines are numerous, and well supplied with European +goods. Some of the stocks are very large, and must require heavy +capital or excellent credit to manage them. Tailors and milliners are +abundant, and bring their modes from Paris. Occasionally they paint +their signs in French, and display the latest novelties from the +center of fashion. Bakers are numerous and well patronized. +‘<i>Frantsooski kleb</i>,’ (French bread,) which is simply white bread made +into rolls, is popular and largely sold in Irkutsk.</p> + +<p>One of my daily exercises in Russian was to spell the signs upon the +stores. In riding I could rarely get more than half through a word +before I was whisked out of sight. I never before knew how convenient +are symbolic signs to a man who cannot read. A picture of a hat, a +glove, or a loaf of bread was far more expressive to my eye than the +word <i>shapka</i>, <i>perchatki</i>, or <i>kleb</i>, printed in Russian letters.</p> + +<p>The Russians smoke a great deal of tobacco in paper cigarettes or +‘<i>papiros</i>.’ Everywhere east of Lake Baikal the papiros of Irkutsk is +in demand, and the manufacture there is quite extensive. In Irkutsk +and to the westward the brand of Moscow is preferred. The consumption +of tobacco in this form throughout the empire must be something +enormous. I have known a party of half a dozen persons to smoke a +hundred cigarettes in an afternoon and evening. Many ladies indulge in +smoking, but the practice is not universal. I do not remember any +unmarried lady addicted to it.</p> + +<p>Irkutsk was founded in 1680, and has at present a population of +twenty-eight or thirty thousand. About four thousand gold miners spend +the winter and their money in the city. Geographically it is in +Latitude 52° 40′ north, and Longitude 104° 20′ east from Greenwich. +Little wind blows there, and storms are less frequent than at Moscow +or St. Petersburg. The snows are not abundant, the quantity that falls +being smaller than in Boston and very much less than in Montreal or +Quebec. In summer or winter the panorama of Irkutsk and its +surroundings is one of great beauty.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg400-1.gif' id='lg400-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>VIEW IN IRKUTSK.</p></div> + +<p>There are twenty or more churches, of which nearly all are large and +finely placed. Several of them were planned and constructed by two +Swedish engineer officers captured at Pultawa and exiled to Siberia. +They are excellent monuments of architectural skill, and would be +ornamental to any European city.</p> + +<p>The Angara at Irkutsk is about six hundred yards wide, and flows with +a current of six miles an hour. It varies in height not more than ten +or twelve inches during the entire year. It does not freeze until the +middle of January, and opens early in May. There are two swinging +ferries for crossing the river. A stout cable is anchored in +mid-stream, and the ferry-boat attached to its unanchored end. The +slack of the cable is buoyed by several small boats, over which it +passes at regular intervals. The ferry swings like a horizontal +pendulum, and is propelled by turning its sides at an angle against +the current. I crossed on this ferry in four minutes from bank to +bank.</p> + +<p>There are many public carriages in the streets, to be hired at thirty +copecks the hour; but the drivers, like their profession everywhere, +are inclined to overcharge. Every one who thinks he can afford it, +keeps a team of his own, the horses being generally of European stock. +A few horses have been brought from St. Petersburg; the journey +occupies a full year, and the animals, when safely arrived, are very +costly. Private turnouts are neat and showy, and on a fine afternoon +the principal drives of the city are quite gay. General Korsackoff has +a light wagon from New York for his personal driving in summer.</p> + +<p>I found here a curious regulation. Sleighs are prohibited by municipal +law from carrying bells in the limits of the city. Reason: in a great +deal of noise pedestrians might be run over. In American cities the +law requires bells to be worn. Reason: unless there is a noise +pedestrians might be run over.</p> + +<p>“You pays your money and you takes your choice.”</p> + +<p>Cossack policemen watch the town during the day, and at night there +are mounted and foot patrols carrying muskets with fixed bayonets. +Every block and sometimes every house has its private watchman, and at +regular intervals during the night you may hear these guardians +thumping their long staves on the pavement to assure themselves and +others that they are awake. The fire department belongs to the police, +and its apparatus consists of hand engines, water carts, and hook and +ladder wagons. There are several watch towers, from which a semaphore +telegraph signals the existence of fire. An electric apparatus was +being arranged during my stay.</p> + +<p>During my visit there was an alarm of fire, and I embraced the +opportunity to see how the Russians ‘run with the machine.’ When I +reached the street the engines and water carts were dashing in the +direction of the fire. The water carts were simply large casks mounted +horizontally on four wheels; a square hole in the top served to admit +a bucket or a suction hose. Those carts bring water from the nearest +point of supply, which may be the river or an artificial reservoir, +according to the locality of the fire. Engines and carts are drawn by +horses, which appear well selected for strength and activity. All the +firemen wore brass helmets.</p> + +<p>The burning house was small and quite disengaged from others, and as +there was no wind there was no danger of a serious conflagration. The +Chief of Police directed the movements of his men. The latter worked +their engines vigorously, but though the carts kept in active motion +the supply of water was not equal to the demand. For some time it +seemed doubtful which would triumph, the flames or the police. Fortune +favored the brave. The building was saved, though in a condition of +incipient charcoalism.</p> + +<p>The Chief of Police wore his full uniform and decorations as the law +requires of him when on duty. During the affair he was thoroughly +spattered with water and covered with dirt and cinders. When he +emerged he presented an appearance somewhat like that of a butterfly +after passing through a sausage machine. A detachment of soldiers came +to the spot but did not form a cordon around it. Every spectator went +as near the fire as he thought prudent, but was careful not to get in +the way. Two or three thousand officers, soldiers, merchants, exiles, +moujiks, women, boys, and beggars gathered in the street to look at +the display.</p> + +<p>The Russian fire engines and water carts with their complement of men, +and each drawn by three horses abreast, present a picturesque +appearance as they dash through the streets. The engines at Irkutsk +are low-powered squirts, worked by hand, less effective than the hand +engines used in America twenty or thirty years ago, and far behind our +steamers of the present day. In Moscow and St. Petersburg the fire +department has been greatly improved during the past ten years, and is +now quite efficient.</p> + +<p>The markets of Irkutsk are well supplied with necessaries of life. +Beef is abundant and good, at an average retail price of seven copecks +a pound. Fish and game are plentiful, and sell at low figures. The +<i>rebchik</i>, or wood-hen, is found throughout Siberia, and is much +cheaper in the market than any kind of domestic fowl. Pork, veal, and +mutton are no more expensive than beef, and all vegetables of the +country are at corresponding rates. In fact if one will eschew +European luxuries he can live very cheaply at Irkutsk. Everything that +comes from beyond the Urals is expensive, on account of the long land +carriage.</p> + +<p>Champagne costs five or six roubles a bottle, and a great quantity of +it is drank. Sherry is from two to seven roubles according to quality, +and the same is the case with white and red wines. The lowest price of +sugar is thirty copecks the pound, and it is oftener forty-five or +fifty. Porter and ale cost two or three roubles a bottle, and none but +the best English brands are drank. The wines are almost invariably +excellent, and any merchant selling even a few cases of bad wine would +very likely lose his trade. Clothes and all articles of personal wear +cost about as much as in St. Louis or New Orleans. Labor is neither +abundant nor scarce. A good man-servant receives ten to fifteen +roubles a month with board.</p> + +<p>Wood comes in soudnas from the shores of Lake Baikal and is very +cheap. These vessels descend the river by the force of the current, +but in going against it are towed by horses. The principal market +place is surrounded with shops where a varied and miscellaneous lot of +merchandise is sold. I found ready-made clothing, crockery, boots, +whisky, hats, furniture, flour, tobacco, and so on through a long list +of saleable and unsaleable articles. How such a mass could find +customers was a puzzle. Nearly all the shops are small and plain, and +there are many stalls or stands which require but a small capital to +manage. A great deal of haggling takes place in transactions at these +little establishments, and I occasionally witnessed some amusing +scenes.</p> + +<p>The best time to view the market is on Sunday morning, when the +largest crowd is gathered. My first visit was made one Sunday when the +thermometer stood at -15° Fahrenheit. The market houses and the open +square were full of people, and the square abounded in horses and +sleds from the country. A great deal of traffic was conducted on these +sleds or upon the solid snow-packed earth. The crowd comprised men, +women, and children of all ages and all conditions in life. Peasants +from the country and laborers from the city, officers, tradesmen, +heads of families, and families without heads, busy men, and idlers, +were mingled as at a popular gathering in City Hall Park. Everybody +was in warm garments, the lower classes wearing coats and pelisses of +sheepskin, while the others were in furs more or less expensive. +Occasionally a drunken man was visible, but there were no indications +of a tendency to fight. The intoxicated American, eight times out of +ten, endeavors to quarrel with somebody, but our Muscovite neighbor is +of a different temperament. When drunk he falls to caressing and gives +kisses in place of blows.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg404-1.gif' id='lg404-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A COLD ATTACHMENT.</p></div> + +<p>The most novel sight that day in the market at Irkutsk was the +embrace of two drunken peasants. They kissed each other so tenderly +and so long that the intense cold congealed their breath and froze +their beards together. I left them as they were endeavoring to arrange +a separation.</p> + +<p>A few beggars circulated in the crowd and gathered here and there a +copeck.</p> + +<p>The frost whitened the beards of the men and reddened the cheeks of +the women. Where hands were bared to the breeze they were of a +corned-beefy hue, and there were many persons stamping on the ground +or swinging their arms to keep up a circulation. The little horses, +standing, were white with frost, but none of them covered with +blankets. The Siberian horses are not blanketed in winter, but I was +told they did not suffer from cold. Their coats are thick and warm and +frequently appear more like fur than hair.</p> + +<p>Everything that could be frozen had succumbed to the frost. There were +frozen chickens, partridges, and other game, thrown in heaps like +bricks or stove wood. Beef, pork, and mutton, were alike solid, and +some of the vendors had placed their animals in fantastic positions +before freezing them. In one place I saw a calf standing as if ready +to walk away. His skin remained, and at first sight I thought him +alive, but was undeceived when a man overturned the unresisting beast. +Frozen fish were piled carelessly in various places, and milk was +offered for sale in cakes or bricks. A stick or string was generally +frozen into a corner of the mass to facilitate carrying. One could +swing a quart of milk at his side or wrap it in his kerchief at +discretion.</p> + +<p>There were many peripatetic dealers in cakes and tea, the latter +carrying small kettles of the hot beverage, which they served in +tumblers. Occasionally there was a man with a whole litter of sucking +pigs frozen solid and slung over his shoulder or festooned into a +necklace. The diminutive size of these pigs awakened reflections upon +the brevity of swinish life.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXV.</h2></div> + + +<p>Custom is the same at Irkutsk as in all fashionable society of the +empire. Visits of ceremony are made in full dress-uniform for an +officer and evening costume for a civilian. Ceremonious calls are +pretty short, depending of course upon the position and intimacy of +the parties. The Russians are very punctilious in making and receiving +visits. So many circumstances are to be considered that I was always +in dread of making a mistake of etiquette somewhere.</p> + +<p>Nearly all my acquaintances in Irkutsk spoke French or English, though +comparatively few conversed with me in the latter tongue. The facility +with which the Russians acquire language has been often remarked. +Almost all Russians who possess any education, are familiar with at +least one language beside their own. Very often I found a person +conversant with two foreign languages, and it was no unusual thing to +find one speaking three. I knew a young officer at Irkutsk who spoke +German, French, English, and Swedish, and had a very fair smattering +of Chinese, Manjour, and Japanese. A young lady there conversed well +and charmingly in English, French, and German and knew something of +Italian. It was more the exception than the rule that I met an officer +with whom I could not converse in French. French is the society +language of the Russian capital, and one of the first requisites in +education.</p> + +<p>Children are instructed almost from infancy. Governesses are generally +French or English, and conversation with their charges is rarely +conducted in Russian. Tutors are generally Germans familiar with +French. There is no other country in the world where those who can +afford it are so attentive to the education of their children. This +attention added to the peculiar temperament of the Russians makes them +the best linguists in the world.</p> + +<p>An English gentleman and lady, the latter speaking Russian fluently, +lived in Siberia several years. During their sojourn a son was born to +them. It was a long time before he began talking, so long in fact, +that his parents feared he would be dumb. When he commenced he was +very soon fluent in both English and Russian. His long hesitation was +doubtless caused by the confusion of two languages.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg407-1.gif' id='lg407-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>QUEEN OF GREECE.</p></div> + +<p>The present emperor is an accomplished linguist, but no exception in +this particular to the Imperial family in general. The Queen of +Greece, a niece of the Emperor of Russia, is said to be very prompt to +learn a new language whenever it comes in her way, and when she was +selected for that royal position she conquered the greek language in a +very short time. French is the leading foreign language among the +Russians, and the second rank is held by the German. Of late years +English has become very popular, and is being rapidly acquired. The +present <i>entente cordiale</i> between Russia and the United States is +exerting an influence for the increased study of our language. Why +should we not return the compliment and bestow a little attention upon +the Slavonic tongue?</p> + +<p>Most persons in society at Irkutsk were from European Russia or had +spent some time in Moscow at St. Petersburg. Of the native born +Siberians there were few who had not made a journey beyond the Ural +Mountains. Among the officials, St. Petersburg was usually the +authority in the matter of life and habit, while the civilians turned +their eyes toward Moscow. Society in Irkutsk was not less polished +than in the capitals, and it possessed the advantage of being somewhat +more open and less rigid than under the shadow of the Imperial palace. +Etiquette is etiquette in any part of the empire, and its forms must +everywhere be observed. But after the social forms were complied, with +there was less stiffness than in European Russia.</p> + +<p>Some travelers declare that they found Siberian society more polished +than that of Old Russia. On this point I cannot speak personally, as +my stay in the western part of the empire was too brief to afford much +insight into its life. There may be some truth in the statement. +Siberia has received a great many individuals of high culture in the +persons of its political exiles. Men of liberal education, active +intellects, and refined manners have been in large proportion among +the banished Poles, and the exiles of 1825 included many of Russia’s +ablest minds. The influence of these exiles upon the intelligence, +habits, and manners of the Siberians, has left an indelible mark. As a +new civilization is more plastic than an old one, so the society of +Northern Asia may have become more polished than that of Ancient +Russia.</p> + +<p>I could learn of only six of my countrymen who had been at Irkutsk +before me. Of these all but two passed through the city with little +delay, and were seen by very few persons. I happened to reach Siberia +when our iron-clad fleet was at Cronstadt, and its officers were being +feasted at St. Petersburg and elsewhere. The Siberians regretted that +Mr. Fox and his companions could not visit them, and experience their +hospitality. So they determined to expend their enthusiasm on the +first American that appeared, and rather unexpectedly I became the +recipient of the will of the Siberians toward the United States. Two +days after my arrival I was visited by Mr. Hamenof, one of the +wealthiest merchants of Irkutsk. As he spoke only Russian, he was +accompanied by my late fellow-traveler who came to interpret between +us, and open the conversation with—</p> + +<p>“Mr. Hamenof presents his compliments, and wishes you to dine with him +day after to-morrow.”</p> + +<p>I accepted the invitation, and the merchant departed. Maack informed +me that the dinner would be a ceremonious one, attended by the +Governor General and leading officials.</p> + +<p>About forty persons were present, and seated according to rank. The +tables were set on three sides of a square apartment, the post of +honor being in the central position facing the middle of the room. The +dinner was served in the French manner, and but for the language and +uniforms around me, and a few articles in the bill of fare, I could +have thought myself in a private parlor of the <i>Trois Freres</i> or the +<i>Cafe Anglais</i>.</p> + +<p>Madame Ditmar, the wife of the governor of the Trans-Baikal, was the +only lady present. When the champagne appeared, Mr. Hamenof proposed +“The United States of America,” and prefaced his toast with a little +speech to his Russian guests. I proposed the health of the Emperor, +and then the toasts became irregular and applied to the Governor +General, the master of the house, the ladies of Siberia, the +Russo-American Telegraph, and various other persons, objects, and +enterprises.</p> + +<p>From the dinner table we adjourned to the parlors where tea and coffee +were brought, and most of the guests were very soon busy at the card +tables. On reaching my room late at night, I found a Russian document +awaiting me, and with effort and a dictionary, I translated it into an +invitation to an official dinner with General Korsackoff. Five minutes +before the appointed hour I accompanied a friend to the Governor +General’s house. As we entered, servants in military garb took our +shoobas, and we were ushered into a large parlor. General Korsackoff +and many of the invited guests were assembled in the parlor, and +within two minutes the entire party had gathered. As the clock struck +five the doors were thrown open, and the general led the way to the +dining hall.</p> + +<p>I found at Irkutsk a great precision respecting appointments. When +dinners were to come off at a fixed hour all the guests assembled from +three to ten minutes before the time specified. I never knew any one +to come late, and all were equally careful not to come early. No one +could be more punctual than General Korsackoff, and his example was no +doubt carefully watched and followed. It is a rule throughout official +circles in Russia, if I am correctly informed, that tardiness implies +disrespect. Americans might take a few lessons of the Russians on the +subject of punctuality.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg410-1.gif' id='lg410-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.</p></div> + +<p>The table was liberally decorated with flowers and plants, and the +whole surroundings were calculated to make one forget that he was in +cold and desolate Siberia. A band of music was stationed in the +adjoining parlor, and furnished us with Russian and American airs. At +the first toast General Korsackoff made a speech in Russian, +recounting the amity existing between the two nations and the visit of +our special embassy to congratulate the Emperor on his escape from +assassination. He thought the Siberians felt no less grateful at this +mark of sympathy than did the people of European Russia, and closed by +proposing, “The President, Congress, and People of the United States.” +The toast was received with enthusiasm, the band playing Yankee +Doodle as an accompaniment to the cheering.</p> + +<p>The speech was translated to me by Captain Linden, the private +Secretary of the Governor General, who spoke French and English +fluently. Etiquette required me to follow with a toast to the emperor +in my little speech. I spoke slowly to facilitate the hearing of those +who understood English. The Captain then translated it into Russian.</p> + +<p>General Korsackoff spoke about four minutes, and I think my response +was of the same length. Both speeches were considered quite elaborate +by the Siberians, and one officer declared it was the longest +dinner-table address the general ever made. Two days later at another +dinner I asked a friend to translate my remarks when I came to speak. +He asked how long I proposed talking.</p> + +<p>“About three minutes,” was my reply.</p> + +<p>“Oh,” said he, “you had better make it one or two minutes. You made a +long speech at the Governor General’s, and when you dine with a person +of less importance he will not expect you to speak as much.”</p> + +<p>I had not taken this view of the matter, as the American custom tends +to brevity on the ascending rather than on the descending scale.</p> + +<p>Ten years earlier Major Collins dined with General Mouravieff in the +same hall where I was entertained. After dinner I heard a story at the +expense of my enterprising predecessor. It is well known that the +Major is quite a speech maker at home, and when he is awakened on a +favorite subject he has no lack either of ideas or words.</p> + +<p>On the occasion just mentioned, General Mouravieff gave the toast, +“Russia and America,” Major Collins rose to reply and after speaking +six or eight minutes came to a pause. Captain Martinoff, who +understood English, was seated near the Major. As the latter stopped, +General Mouravieff turned to the Captain and asked:</p> + +<p>“Will you be kind enough to translate what has been said?”</p> + +<p>“<i>Blagodariete</i>,” (he thanks you) said the captain. The Major +proceeded six or eight minutes more and paused again.</p> + +<p>“Translate,” was the renewed command of the Governor General.</p> + +<p>“He thanks you very much.”</p> + +<p>Again another period of speech and the address was finished.</p> + +<p>“Translate if you please,” the general suggested once more to his aid.</p> + +<p>“He thanks you very much indeed.”</p> + +<p>The Major was puzzled, and turning to Captain Martinoff remarked that +the Russian language must be very comprehensive when a speech of +twenty minutes could be translated in three or four words.</p> + +<p>On days when I was disengaged I dined at the <i>Amoorski Gastinitza</i> or +Amoor Hotel. The hotel comprised two buildings, one containing the +rooms of lodgers, and the other devoted to restaurant, dining and +billiard rooms. In the dining department there were several rooms, a +large one for a restaurant and table d’hote, and the rest for private +parties. Considering the general character of Russian hotels the one +at Irkutsk was quite creditable. In its management, cookery, and +service it would compare favorably with the establishments on +Courtlandt Street or Park Row.</p> + +<p>In the billiard room there were two tables on which I sometimes +complied with a request to ‘show the American game.’ The tables had +six pockets each, and as the cues had no leather tips, there was an +unpleasant clicking whenever they wore used. The Russian game of +billiards is played with five balls, and the science consists in +pocketing the balls. The carom does not count.</p> + +<p>The first time I dined at the hotel the two candles burned dimly, and +we called for a third. When it was brought the servant drew a small +table near us and placed the extra candle upon it. I asked the reason +for his doing so, and it was thus explained.</p> + +<p>There is a superstition in Russia that if three lighted candles are +placed upon a table some one in the room will die within a year. +Everybody endeavors to avoid such a calamity. If you have two candles +and order another, the servant will place the third on a side table or +he will bring a fourth and make your number an even one.</p> + +<p>There was formerly a theatre at Irkutsk, but it was burned a few years +ago, and has not been rebuilt. During my stay there was a musical +concert in the large hall of the officers’ club, and a theatrical +display was prepared but not concluded before my departure. At the +concert a young officer, Captain Lowbry, executed on the piano several +pieces of his own composition, and was heartily applauded by the +listeners. Once a week there was a social party at the club house +where dancing, cards, billiards, and small talk continued till after +midnight.</p> + +<p>Nearly every one in society kept ‘open house’ daily. In most of the +families where I was acquainted tea was taken at 8 P.M., and any +friend could call at that hour without ceremony. The samovar was +placed on the table, and one of the ladies presided over the tea. +Those who wished it could sit at table, but there was no formal +spreading of the cloth. Tea was handed about the room and each one +took it at his liking. I have seen in these social circles a most +pleasing irregularity in tea drinking. Some were seated on sofas and +chairs, holding cups and saucers in their hands or resting them upon +tables; other stood in groups of two, three, or more; others were at +cards, and sipped their tea at intervals of the games; and a few were +gathered around the hostess at the samovar. The time passed in +whatever amusements were attainable. There were cards for some and +conversation for others, with piano music, little dances and general +sports of considerable variety. Those evenings at Irkutsk were +delightful, and I shall always remember them with pleasure.</p> + +<p>What with visits, dinners, balls, suppers, social evenings, and sleigh +rides, I had little time to myself, and though I economized every +minute I did not succeed in finishing my letters and journal until +the very day before my departure. The evening parties lasted pretty +late. They generally closed with a supper toward the wee small hours, +and the good nights were not spoken until about two in the morning.</p> + +<p>There is a peculiarity about a Russian party,—whether a quiet social +assemblage or a stately ball,—that the whole house is thrown open. In +America guests are confined to the parlors and the dancing and supper +apartments, from the time they leave the cloaking rooms till they +prepare for departure. In Russia they can wander pretty nearly where +they please, literally “up stairs, down stairs, or in my lady’s +chamber.” Of course all the rooms are prepared for visitors, but I +used at first to feel a shrinking sensation when I sauntered into the +private study and work room of my official host, or found myself among +the scent bottles and other toilet treasures of a lady acquaintance. +This literal keeping of ‘open house’ materially assists to break the +stiffness of an assemblage though it can hardly be entirely convenient +to the hosts.</p> + +<p>Immediately after my entertainment with General Korsackoff, the mayor +of Irkutsk invited me to an official dinner at his house. This was +followed a few days later by a similar courtesy on the part of Mr. +Trepaznikoff, the son of a wealthy merchant who died a few years ago. +Private dinners followed in rapid succession until I was qualified to +speak with practical knowledge of the Irkutsk cuisine. No stranger in +a strange land was ever more kindly taken in, and no hospitality was +ever bestowed with less ostentation. I can join in the general +testimony of travelers that the Russians excel in the ability to +entertain visitors.</p> + +<p>Mr. Kartesheftsoff, the Mayor, or <i>Golovah</i> as he is called, resided +in a large house that formerly belonged to Prince Trubetskoi, one of +the exiles of 1825. My host was an extensive owner of gold mines, and +had been very successful in working them. He was greatly interested in +the means employed in California for separating gold from earth, and +especially in the ‘hydraulic’ process. On my first visit Madame +Kartesheftsoff spoke very little French. She must have submitted her +studies to a thorough revision as I found her a week later able to +conduct a conversation with ease. There were other instances of a +vigorous overhauling of disused French and English that furnished +additional proof of the Russian adaptability to foreign tongues.</p> + +<p>To reach the golovah’s house we crossed, the Ouska-kofka, a small +river running through the northern part of Irkutsk; it had been +recently frozen, and several rosy-cheeked boys were skating on the +ice. The view from the bridge is quite picturesque, and the little +valley forms a favorite resort in certain seasons of the year. The +water of the Ouska-kofka is said to be denser than that of the Angara, +and on that account is preferred for culinary purposes.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_415'></a> +<img src="images/lg415-1.gif" id='lg415-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—TWIN BOTTLES" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXVI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXVI.</h2></div> + + +<p>I have made occasional mention of the exiles of 1825, and it may be +well to explain how they went to Siberia. In the early part of the +present century Russia was not altogether happy. The Emperor Paul, +called to the throne by the death of Catherine II., did not display +marked ability, but, ‘on the contrary, quite the reverse.’ What his +mother had done for the improvement of the country he was inclined to +undo. Under his reign great numbers were banished to Siberia upon +absurd charges or mere caprice. The emperor issued manifestoes of a +whimsical character, one of which was directed against round hats, and +another against shoe strings. The glaring colors now used upon +bridges, distance posts, watch boxes, and other imperial property, +were of his selection, and so numerous were his eccentricities that he +was declared of unsound mind. In March, 1801, he was smothered in his +palace, which he had just completed. It is said that within an hour +after the fact of his death was known round hats appeared on the +street in great numbers.</p> + +<p>Alexander I. endeavored to repair some of the evils of his father’s +reign. He recalled many exiles from Siberia, suppressed the secret +inquisition, and restored many rights of which the people had been +deprived. His greatest abilities were displayed during the wars with +France. After the general peace he devoted himself to inspecting and +developing the resources of the country, and was the first, and thus +far the only, emperor of Russia to cross the Ural Mountains and visit +the mines of that region. His death occurred during a tour through the +southern provinces of the empire. Some of his reforms were based upon +the principles of other European governments, which he endeavored to +study. On his return from England he told his council that the best +thing he saw there was the opposition in Parliament. He thought it a +part of the government machinery, and regretted it could not be +introduced in Russia.</p> + +<p>Constantine, the eldest brother of Alexander I., had relinquished his +right to the crown, thus breaking the regular succession. From the +time of Paul a revolutionary party had existed, and once at least it +plotted the assassination of Alexander. There was an interregnum of +three weeks between the death of Alexander and the assumption of power +by his second brother, Nicholas. The change of succession strengthened +the revolutionists, and they employed the interregnum to organize a +conspiracy for seizing the government.</p> + +<p>The conspiracy was wide spread, and included many of the ablest men of +the day. The army was seriously implicated. The revolutionists desired +a constitutional government, and their rallying cry of “CONSTITUTIA!” +was explained to the soldiers as the name of Constantine’s wife. The +real design of the movement was not confided to the rank and file, who +supposed they were fighting for Constantine and the regular succession +of the throne.</p> + +<p>Nicholas learned of the conspiracy the day before his ascension; the +Imperial guard of the palace was in the plot, and expected to seize +the emperor’s person. The guard was removed during the night and a +battalion from Finland substituted. It is said that on receiving +intelligence of the assembling of the insurgents, the emperor called +his wife to the chapel of the palace, where he spent a few moments in +prayer. Then taking his son, the present emperor, he led him to the +soldiers of the new guard, confided him to their protection, and +departed for St. Isaac’s Square to suppress the revolt. The soldiers +kept the boy until the emperor’s return, and would not even surrender +him to his tutor.</p> + +<p>The plot was so wide-spread that the conspirators had good promise of +success, but whole regiments backed out at the last moment and left +only a forlorn hope to begin the struggle. Nicholas rode with his +officers to St. Isaac’s square, and twice commanded the assembled +insurgents to surrender. They refused, and were then saluted with “the +last argument of kings.” A storm of grape shot, followed by a charge +of cavalry, put in flight all who were not killed, and ended the +insurrection.</p> + +<p>A long and searching investigation followed, disclosing all the +ramifications of the plot. The conspirators declared they were led to +what they undertook by the unfortunate condition of the country and +the hope of improving it. Nicholas, concealed behind a screen, heard +most of the testimony and confessions, and learned therefrom a +wholesome lesson. The end of the affair was the execution of five +principal conspirators and the banishment of many others to Siberia. +The five that suffered capital punishment were hanged in front of the +Admiralty buildings in St. Petersburg. One rope was broken, and the +victim, falling to the ground, suffered such agony that the officer in +charge of the execution sent to the emperor asking what to do. “Take a +new rope and finish your duty,” was the unpitying answer of Nicholas.</p> + +<p>The accession of Nicholas and the attempted revolt occurred on the +14th December, (O.S.) 1825. Within six months from that date the most +of the conspirators reached Siberia. They were sent to different +districts, some to labor in the mines for specified periods, and +others to become colonists. They included some of the ablest men in +Russia, and were nearly all young and enterprising. Many of them were +married, and were followed into exile by their wives, though the +latter were only permitted to go to Siberia on condition of never +returning. Each of the exiles was deprived of all civil or political +rights, and declared legally dead. His property was confiscated to the +crown, and his wife considered a widow and could marry again if she +chose. To the credit of the Russian women, not one availed herself of +this privilege. I was told that nearly every married exile’s family +followed him, and some of the unmarried ones were followed by their +sisters and mothers.</p> + +<p>I have previously spoken of the effect of the unfortunates of the 14th +December upon the society and manners of Siberia. These men enjoyed +good social positions, and their political faults did not prevent +their becoming well received. Their sentence to labor in the mines was +not rigorously enforced, and lasted but two or three years at +farthest. They were subsequently employed at indoor work, and, as time +wore on and passion subsided, were allowed to select residences in +villages. Very soon they were permitted to go to the larger towns, and +once there, those whose wives possessed property in their own right +built themselves elegant houses and took the position to which their +abilities entitled them.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg419-1.gif' id='lg419-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>HOME OF TWO EXILES.</p></div> + +<p>General Korsackoff told me that when he first went to serve in Siberia +there was a ball one evening at the Governor General’s. Noticing one +man who danced the Mazurka splendidly, he whispered to General +Mouravieff and asked his name. “That,” said Mouravieff, “is a +revolutionist of 1825. He is one of the best men of society in +Irkutsk.”</p> + +<p>After their first few years of exile, the Decembrists had little to +complain of except the prohibition to return to Europe. To men whose +youth was passed in brilliant society and amid the gayeties of the +capital, this life in Siberia was no doubt irksome. Year after year +went by, and on the twenty-fifth anniversary of their banishment they +looked for pardon. Little else was talked of among them for some +weeks, but they were doomed to disappointment. Nicholas had no +forgiving disposition, and those who plotted his overthrow were little +likely to obtain favor, even though a quarter of a century had elapsed +since their crime.</p> + +<p>But the death of Nicholas and the coronation of Alexander II. wrought +a change for the exiles. Nicholas began his reign with an act of +severity; Alexander followed his ascension with one of clemency. By +imperial ukase he pardoned the exiles of 1825, restored them to their +civil and political rights, and permitted their return to Europe. As +the fathers were legally dead when sent into exile, the children born +to them in Siberia were illegitimate in the eye of the law and could +not even bear their own family name. Properly they belonged to the +government, and inherited their father’s exile in not being permitted +to go to Europe. The ukase removed all these disabilities and gave the +children full authority to succeed to their father’s hereditary titles +and social and political rights.</p> + +<p>These exiles lived in different parts of Siberia, but chiefly in the +governments of Irkutsk and Yeneseisk. But the thirty years of the +reign of Nicholas were not uneventful. Death removed some of the +unfortunates. Others had dwelt so long in Siberia that they did not +wish to return to a society where they would be strangers. Some who +were unmarried at the time of their exile had acquired families in +Siberia, and thus fastened themselves to the country. Not more than +half of those living at the time of Alexander’s coronation availed +themselves of his permission to return to Russia. The princes +Trubetskoi and Volbonskoi hesitated for some time, but finally +concluded to return. Both died in Europe quite recently. Their +departure was regretted by many persons in Irkutsk, as their absence +was quite a loss to society. I heard some curious reminiscences +concerning the Prince Volbonskoi. It was said that his wife and +children, with the servants, were the occupants of the large and +elegant house, the prince living in a small building in the court +yard. He had a farm near the town and sold the various crops to his +wife. Both the princes paid great attention to educating their +children and fitting them for ultimate social position in Europe.</p> + +<p>While in Irkutsk I saw one of the Decembrists who had grown quite +wealthy as a wine merchant. Another of these exiles was mentioned, but +I did not meet him. Another resided at Selenginsk, a third near Verkne +Udinsk, and a fourth near Lake Baikal. There are several at other +points, but I believe the whole number of the Decembrists now in +Siberia is less than a dozen. Forty-two years have brought them to the +brink of the grave, and very soon the active spirits of that unhappy +revolt will have passed away.</p> + +<p>The other political exiles in Siberia are almost entirely Poles. Every +insurrection in Poland adds to the population of Asiatic Russia, and +accomplishes very little else. The revolt of 1831 was prolific in this +particular, and so was that of 1863. Revolutions in Poland have been +utterly hopeless of success since the downfall and division of the +kingdom, but the Poles remain undaunted.</p> + +<p>I do not propose entering into a discussion of the Polish question, as +it would occupy too much space and be foreign to the object of my +book; but I will briefly touch a few points. The Russians and Poles +were not inclined to amiability when both had separate governments. +Europe has never been converted to Republican principles, and however +much the Western powers may sympathize with Poland, they would be +unwilling to adopt for themselves the policy they desire for Russia. +England holds India and Ireland, regardless of the will of Indians +and Irish. France has her African territory which did not ask to be +taken under the tri-color, and we are all aware of the relations once +held by her emperor toward Mexico. It is much easier to look for +generosity and forbearance in others than in ourselves.</p> + +<p>Those who are disposed to shed tears over the fate of Poland, should +remember that the unhappy country has only suffered the fortune of +war. When Russia and Poland began to measure swords the latter was the +more powerful, and for a time overran a goodly portion of the +Muscovite soil. We all know there has been a partition of Poland, but +are we equally aware that the Russia of Rurik and Ivan IV. was +partitioned in 1612 by the Swedes (at Novgorod) and the Poles (at +MOSCOW?) In 1612 the Poles held Moscow. The Russians rose against them +in that year, just as the Poles have since risen against the Russians, +but with a different result.</p> + +<p>The Polish exiles of 1881 and previous years were pardoned by the same +ukase that liberated the Russian exiles of 1825. Just before the +insurrection of 1863 there were not many Poles in Siberia, except +those who remained of their own free will. The last insurrection +caused a fresh deportation, twenty-four thousand being banished beyond +the Ural Mountains. Ten thousand of these were sent to Eastern +Siberia, the balance being distributed in the governments west of the +Yenesei. The decree of June, 1867, allowed many of these prisoners to +return to Poland.</p> + +<p>The government has always endeavored to scatter the exiles and prevent +their congregating in such numbers as to cause inconvenience. The +prime object of deportation to Siberia is to people the country and +develop its natural wealth. Though Russia occupies nearly an eighth of +the land on the face of the globe, her population numbers but about +seventy millions. It is her policy to people her territory, and she +bends her energies to this end. She does not allow the emigration of +her subjects to any appreciable extent, and she punishes but few +crimes with death. Notwithstanding her general tolerance on religious +matters, she punishes with severity a certain sect that discourages +propagation. There are other facts I might mention as illustrations +were it not for the fastidiousness of the present age. Siberia is much +more in need of population than European Russia, and exiles are sent +thither to become inhabitants.</p> + +<p>So far as the matter of sentence goes there is little difference +between political and criminal exiles. The sentence is in accordance +with the offence to be punished, and may be light or severe. Some +exiles are simply banished to Siberia, and can do almost anything +except go away. They may travel as they choose, engage in business, +and even hold official position. It is no bar to their progress that +they emigrated involuntarily. If they forget their evil ways and are +good citizens, others will be equally oblivious and encourage them. +They have special inducements to become colonists and till the soil or +develop its mineral wealth. With honesty and industry they have at +least a fair chance in life.</p> + +<p>Some exiles are confined to certain districts, governments, towns, or +villages, and must report at stated intervals to the Chief of Police. +These intervals are not the same in all cases, but vary from one day +to a month, or even more. Some are not allowed to go beyond specified +limits without express permission from the authorities, while others +may absent themselves as they choose during the intervals of reporting +to the police. Some can engage in whatever business they find +advantageous, while others are prohibited certain employments but not +restricted as to others.</p> + +<p>If a man is sentenced to become a colonist, the government gives him a +house or means to build it, a plot of ground, and the necessary tools. +He is not allowed to be any thing else than a colonist. Criminals of a +certain grade cannot engage in commerce, and the same restriction +applies to ‘politiques.’ No criminal can be a teacher, either in a +public or private school, and no politique can teach in a public +school. While I was in Siberia an order was issued prohibiting the +latter class engaging in any kind of educational work except music, +drawing, and painting.</p> + +<p>Many criminal and political offenders are ‘drafted in the army’ in +much the same manner that our prisons sent their able-bodied men into +military service during our late war. Their terms of enlistment are +various, but generally not less than fifteen years. The men receive +the pay and rations of soldiers, and have the possibility of promotion +before them. They are sent to regiments stationed at distant posts in +order to diminish the chances of desertion. The Siberian and Caucasian +regiments receive the greater portion of these recruits. Many members +of the peculiar religious sect mentioned elsewhere are sent to the +Caucasian frontier. They are said to be very tractable and obedient, +but not reliable for aggressive military operations.</p> + +<p>An exile may receive from his friends money to an amount not exceeding +twenty-five roubles a month. If his wife has property of her own she +may enjoy a separate income. Those confined in prisons or kept at +labor may receive money to the same extent, but it must pass through +the hands of the officials. Of course the occupants of prisons are fed +by government, and so are those under sentence of hard labor. The men +restricted to villages and debarred from profitable employment receive +monthly allowances in money and flour, barely enough for their +subsistence. There are complaints that dishonest officials steal a +part of these allowances, but the practice is not as frequent as +formerly. A prisoner’s comfort in any part of the world depends in a +great measure upon the character of the officer in charge of him. +Siberia offers no exception to this rule.</p> + +<p>Formerly the Polish exiles enjoyed more social freedom than at +present. The cause of the change was thus explained to me:</p> + +<p>Five or six years ago a Polish noble who had been exiled lived at +Irkutsk and enjoyed the friendship of several officers. The Amoor had +been recently opened, and this man asked and obtained the privilege of +visiting it, giving his parole not to leave Siberia. At Nicolayevsk +he embraced the opportunity to escape, and advised others to do the +same. This breach of confidence led to greater circumspection, and the +distrust was increased by the conduct of other exiles. Since that time +the Poles have been under greater restraint.</p> + +<p>Many books on Russia contain interesting stories of the brutality +toward exiles, both on the road and after they have reached their +destination. Undoubtedly there have been instances of cruelty, just as +in every country in Christendom, but I do not believe the Russians are +worse in this respect than other people. I saw a great many exiles +during my journey through Siberia. Frequently when on the winter road +I met convoys of them, and never observed any evidence of needless +severity. Five-sixths of the exiles I met on the road were in sleighs +like those used by Russian merchants when traveling. There were +generally three persons in a sleigh, and I thought them comfortably +clad. I could see no difference between them and their guards, except +that the latter carried muskets and sabres. Any women among them +received special attention, particularly when they were young and +pretty. I saw two old ladies who were handled tenderly by the soldiers +and treated with apparent distinction. When exiles were on foot, their +guards marched with them and the women of the party rode in sleighs.</p> + +<p>The object of deportation is to people Siberia; if the government +permitted cruelties that caused half of the exiles to die on the road, +as some accounts aver, it would be inconsistent with its policy. As +before mentioned, the ripe age to which most of the Decembrists lived, +is a proof that they were not subjected to physical torture. In the +eyes of the government these men were the very worst offenders, and if +they did not suffer hardships and cruelties it is not probable that +all others would be generally ill-used. I do not for a moment suppose +exile is either attractive or desirable, but, so far as I know, it +does not possess the horrors attributed to it. The worst part of exile +is to be sent to hard labor, but the unpleasant features of such +punishment are not confined to Siberia. Plenty of testimony on this +point can be obtained at Sing Sing and Pentonville.</p> + +<p>It is unpleasant to leave one’s home and become an involuntary +emigrant to a far country. The Siberian road is one I would never +travel out of pure pleasure, and I can well understand that it must be +many times disagreeable when one journeys unwillingly. But, once in +Siberia, the worldly circumstances of many exiles are better than they +were at home. If a man can forget that he is deprived of liberty, and +I presume this is the most difficult thing of all, he is not, under +ordinary circumstances, very badly off in Siberia. Certainly many +exiles choose to remain when their term of banishment is ended. A +laboring man is better paid for his services and is more certain of +employment than in European Russia. He leads a more independent life +and has better prospects of advancement than in the older +civilization. Many Poles say they were drawn unwillingly into the acts +that led to their exile, and if they return home they may be involved +in like trouble again. In Poland they are at the partial mercy of +malcontents who have nothing to lose and can never remain at ease. In +Siberia there are no such disturbing influences.</p> + +<p>About ten thousand exiles are sent to Siberia every year. Except in +times of political disturbance in Poland or elsewhere, nearly all the +exiles are offenders against society or property. The notion that they +are generally ‘politiques,’ is very far from correct. As well might +one suppose the majority of the convicts at Sing Sing were from the +upper classes of New York. The regular stream of exiles is composed +almost entirely of criminal offenders; occasional floods of +revolutionists follow the attempts at independence.</p> + +<p>I made frequent inquiries concerning the condition of the exiles, and +so far as I could learn they were generally well off. I say +‘generally,’ because I heard of some cases of poverty and hardship, +and doubtless there were others that I never heard of. A large part of +the Siberian population is made up of exiles and their descendants. A +gentleman frequently sent me his carriage during my stay at Irkutsk. +It was managed by an intelligent driver who pleased me with his skill +and dash. One evening, when he was a little intoxicated, my friend and +myself commented in French on his condition, and were a little +surprised to find that he understood us. He was an exile from St. +Petersburg, where he had been coachman to a French merchant.</p> + +<p>The clerk of the hotel was an exile, and so was one of the waiters. +<i>Isvoshchiks</i>, or hackmen, counted many exiles in their ranks, and so +did laborers of other professions. Occasionally clerks in stores, +market men, boot makers, and tailors ascribed their exile to some +discrepancy between their conduct and the laws. I met a Polish +gentleman in charge of the museum of the geographical society of +Eastern Siberia, and was told that the establishment rapidly improved +in his hands. Two physicians of Irkutsk were ‘unfortunates’ from +Warsaw, and one of them had distanced all competitors in the extent +and success of his practice. Then there were makers of cigarettes, +dealers in various commodities, and professors of divers arts. Some of +the educated Siberians I met told me they had been taught almost +entirely by exiles.</p> + +<p>Before the abolition of serfdom a proprietor could send his human +property into exile. He was not required to give any reason, the +record accompanying the order of banishment stating only that the serf +was exiled “by the will of his master.” This privilege was open to +enormous abuse, but happily the ukase of liberty has removed it. The +design of the system was no doubt to enable proprietors to rid +themselves of serfs who were idle, dissolute, or quarrelsome, but had +not committed any act the law could touch.</p> + +<p>A proprietor exiling a serf was required to pay his traveling expenses +of twenty-five roubles, and to furnish him an outfit of summer and +winter clothing. A wife was allowed to follow her husband, with all +their children not matured, and all their expenses were to be paid. +The abuse of the system consisted in the power to banish a man who had +committed no offence at all. The loss of services and the expense of +exiling a serf may have been a slight guarantee against this, but if +the proprietor were an unprincipled tyrant or a sensualist, (and he +might be both,) there was no protection for his subjects. It has +happened that the best man on an estate incurred the displeasure of +his owner and went to Siberia in consequence. Exile is a severe +punishment to the Russian peasant, who clings with enduring tenacity +to the place where his youthful days were passed.</p> + +<p>Every serf exiled for a minor offense or at the will of his master was +appointed on his arrival in Siberia to live in a specified district. +If he could produce a certificate of good behavior at the end of three +years, he was authorized to clear and cultivate as much land as he +wished. If single he could marry, but he was not compelled to do so. +He was exempt from taxes for twelve years, and after that only paid a +trifle. He had no master and could act for himself in all things +except in returning to Russia. He was under the disadvantage of having +no legal existence, and though the land he worked was his own and no +one could disturb him, he did not hold it under written title. The +criminal who served at labor in the mines was placed, at the +expiration of his sentence, in the same category as the exile for +minor offences. Both cultivated land in like manner and on equal +terms. Some became wealthy and were able to secure the privileges of +citizenship.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_428'></a> +<img src="images/sm428-1.gif" id='sm428-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE—QUARTERS" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXVII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXVII.</h2></div> + + +<p>The descendants of exiles are in much greater number than the exiles +themselves. Eastern Siberia is mainly peopled by them, and Western +Siberia very largely so. They are all free peasants and enjoy a +condition far superior to that of the serf under the system prevalent +before 1859. Many of them have become wealthy through gold mining, +commerce, and agriculture, and occupy positions they never could have +obtained had they lived in European Russia. I know a merchant whose +fortune is counted by millions, and who is famous through Siberia for +his enterprise and generosity. He is the son of an exiled serf and has +risen by his own ability. Since I left Siberia I learn with pleasure +that the emperor has honored him with a decoration. Many of the +prominent merchants and proprietary miners were mentioned to me as +examples of the prosperity of the second and third generation from +banished men. I was told particularly of a wealthy gold miner whose +evening of life is cheered by an ample fortune and two well educated +children. Forty years ago his master capriciously sent him to Siberia. +The man found his banishment ‘the best thing that could happen.’</p> + +<p>The system of serfdom never had any practical hold in Siberia. There +was but one Siberian proprietor of serfs in existence at the time of +the emancipation. This was Mr. Rodinkoff of Krasnoyarsk, whose +grandfather received a grant of serfs and a patent of nobility from +the empress Catherine. None of the family, with a single exception, +ever attempted more than nominal exercise of authority over the +peasants, and this one paid for his imprudence with his life. He +attempted to put in force his full proprietary rights, and the result +was his death by violence during a visit to one of his estates.</p> + +<p>The difference between the conditions of the Russian and Siberian +peasantry was that between slavery and freedom. The owner of serfs had +rarely any common interest with his people, and his chief business was +to make the most out of his human property. Serfdom was degrading to +master and serf, just as slavery degraded owner and slave. The moujik +bore the stamp of servility as the negro slave bore it, and it will +take as much time to wear it away in the one as the other. Centuries +of oppression in Russia could not fail to open a wide gulf between the +nobility and those who obeyed them. Thanks to Alexander the work of +filling this gulf has begun, but it will require many years and much +toil to complete it.</p> + +<p>The comparative freedom enjoyed in Siberia was not without visible +result. The peasants were more prosperous than in Russia, they lived +in better houses and enjoyed more real comforts of life. The absence +of masters and the liberty to act for themselves begat an air of +independence in the peasant class that contrasted agreeably with the +cringing servility of the serf. Wealth was open to all who sought it, +and the barriers between the different ranks of society were partially +broken down. The peasants that acquired wealth began to cultivate +refined tastes. They paid more attention to the education of their +children than was shown by the same class in Russia, and the desire +for education rapidly increased. The emancipation of the serfs in +Russia was probably brought about by the marked superiority of the +Siberian population in prosperity and intelligence.</p> + +<p>In coming ages the Russians will revere the name of Alexander not less +than that of Peter the Great. To the latter is justly due the credit +of raising the nation from barbarism; the former has the immortal +honor of removing the stain of serfdom. The difficulties in the way +were great and the emperor had few supporters, but he steadily pursued +his object and at length earned the eternal gratitude of his people. +Russia is yet in her developing stage. The shock of the change was +severe and not unattended with danger, but the critical period is +passed, and the nation has commenced a career of freedom. The serf has +been awakened to a new life, and his education is just commencing. +Already there is increased prosperity in some parts of the empire, +showing that the free man understands his new condition. The +proprietors who were able to appreciate and prepare for the change +have been positively benefited, while others who continued obstinate +were ruined. On the whole the derangement by the transition has been +less than many friends of the measure expected, and by no means equal +to that prophesied by its opponents. But the grandest results in the +nation’s progress are yet to come, and it is from future generations +that Alexander will receive his warmest praise.</p> + +<p>The working of mines on government account has greatly diminished in +the past few years, and the number of hard labor convicts in Siberia +more than equals the capacity of the mines. When the political exiles, +after the revolution of 1863, arrived at Irkutsk, the mines were +already filled with convicts. The ‘politiques’ sentenced to hard labor +were employed in building; roads, most of them being sent to the +southern end of Lake Baikal. In June, 1866, seven hundred and twenty +prisoners were sent to this labor, and divided into eight or ten +parties to work on as many sections of the road. Before the end of the +month a revolt occurred. Various accounts have been given and +different motives assigned for it. I was told by several Poles that +the prisoners were half starved, and the little food they received was +bad. Hunger and a desire to escape were the motives to the +insurrection. On the other hand the Russians told me the prisoners +were properly fed, and the revolt must be attributed entirely to the +hope of escaping from Siberia.</p> + +<p>I obtained from an officer, who sat on the court-martial which +investigated the affair, the following particulars:</p> + +<p>On the 24th of June, (O.S.,) the working party at Koultoukskoi, the +western end of the road, disarmed its guard by a sudden and bloodless +attack. The insurgents then moved eastward along the line of the road, +and on their way overpowered successively the guards of the other +parties. Many of the prisoners refused to take part in the affair and +remained at their work. A Polish officer named Sharamovitch assumed +command of the insurgents, who directed their march toward Posolsky.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg432-1.gif' id='xlg432-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>TARTAR CAVALRY.</p></div> + +<p>As soon as news of the affair reached Irkutsk, the Governor General +ordered a battalion of soldiers by steamer to Posolsky. On the 28th of +June a fight occurred at the river Bestriya. The insurgents were +defeated with a loss of twenty-five or thirty men, while the force +sent against them lost five men and one officer. The Polish leader was +among the killed. After the defeat the insurgents separated in small +bands and fled into the mountains. They were pursued by Tartar +cavalry, who scoured the country thoroughly and retook all the +fugitives. The insurrection caused much alarm at its outbreak, as it +was supposed all prisoners in Siberia were in the conspiracy. +Exaggerated reports were spread, and all possible precautions taken, +but they proved unnecessary. The conspiracy extended no farther than +the working parties on the Baikal road.</p> + +<p>The prisoners were brought to Irkutsk, where a court-martial +investigated the affair. A Russian court-martial does not differ +materially from any other in the manner of its proceedings. It +requires positive evidence for or against a person accused, and, like +other courts, gives him the benefit of doubts. My informant told me +that the court in this case listened to all evidence that had any +possible bearing on the question. The sitting continued several weeks, +and after much deliberation the court rendered a finding and sentence.</p> + +<p>In the finding the prisoners were divided into five grades, and their +sentences accorded with the letter of the law. The first grade +comprised seven persons, known to have been leaders in the revolt. +These were sentenced to be shot. In the second grade there were a +hundred and ninety-seven, who knew the design to revolt and joined in +the insurrection. One-tenth of these were to suffer death, the choice +being made by lot; the remainder were sentenced to twenty years labor. +The third grade comprised a hundred and twenty-two, ignorant of the +conspiracy before the revolt, but who joined the insurgents. These +received an addition of two or three years to their original sentences +to labor. The fourth grade included ninety-four men, who knew the +design to revolt but refused to join the insurgents. These were +sentenced “to remain under suspicion.” In the fifth and last grade +there were two hundred and sixty, who were ignorant of the conspiracy +and remained at their posts. Their innocence was fully established, +and, of course, relieved them from all charge.</p> + +<p>It was found that the design of the insurgents was to escape into +Mongolia and make their way to Pekin. This would have been next to +impossible, for two reasons: the character of the country, and the +treaty between China and Russia. The region to be traversed from the +Siberian frontier toward Pekin is the Mongolian steppe or desert. The +only food obtainable on the steppe is mutton from the flocks of the +nomad inhabitants. These are principally along the road from Kiachta, +and even there are by no means numerous. The escaping exiles in +avoiding the road to ensure safety would have run great risk of +starvation. The treaty between China and Russia requires that +fugitives from one empire to the other shall be given up. Had the +exiles succeeded in crossing Mongolia and reaching the populous parts +of China, they would have been once more in captivity and returned to +Russian hands.</p> + +<p>The finding of the court-martial was submitted to General Korsackoff +for approval or revision. The general commuted the sentence of three +men in the first grade to twenty years labor. Those in the second +grade sentenced to death were relieved from this punishment and placed +on the same footing as their companions. In the third grade the +original sentence (at the time of banishment) was increased by one or +two years labor. Other penalties were not changed.</p> + +<p>During my stay in Irkutsk the four prisoners condemned to death +suffered the extreme penalty, the execution occurring in the forest +near the town. A firing party of forty-eight men was divided into four +squads. According to the custom at all military executions one musket +in each squad was charged with a blank cartridge. The four prisoners +were shot simultaneously, and all died instantly. Two of them were +much dejected; the others met their deaths firmly and shouted “<i>Vive +la Pologne</i>” as they heard the order to fire.</p> + +<p>I was told that the crowd of people, though large, was very quiet, +and moved away in silence when the execution was over. Very few +officers and soldiers were present beyond those whose duty required +them to witness or take part in the affair.</p> + +<p>One of the most remarkable escapes from Siberia was that of Rufin +Piotrowski, a Polish emigrant who left Paris in 1844 to return to his +native country, with impossible plans and crude ideas for her relief. +The end of his journey was Kamimetz, in Podolia, where he gave himself +out as a Frenchman, who had come to give private lessons in foreign +languages, and received the usual permit from the authorities without +exciting any suspicion. He was soon introduced into the best society; +and the better to shield his connections, he chose the houses of +Russian employés. His security rested upon his not being supposed to +understand the Polish language; and, during the nine months that he +remained, he obtained such command over himself, that the police had +not the slightest suspicion of his being a Pole. The warning voice +came from St. Petersburg, through the spies in Paris.</p> + +<p>Early one winter’s morning he was roughly shaken out of slumber by the +director of police, and carried before the governor of the province, +who had come specially on this errand. His position was represented to +him as one of the greatest danger, and he was recommended to make a +full confession. This for many days he refused to do, until a large +number of those who were his accomplices were brought before him; and +their weary, anxious faces induced him to exclaim loudly, and in his +native tongue—“Yes, I am a Pole, and have returned because I could +not bear exile from my native land any longer. Here I wished to live +inoffensive and quiet, confiding my secret to a few countrymen; and I +have nothing more to say.” An immediate order was made out for the +culprit’s departure to Kiev. According to the story he has published +his sufferings were frightful, and were not lessened when they stopped +at a hut, where some rusty chains were brought out, the rings of which +were thrust over his ankles: they proved much too small, and the rust +prevented the bars from turning in the sockets, so that the pain was +insupportable. He was rudely carried and thrown into the carriage, and +thus arrived in an almost insensible condition at the fortress of +Kiev.</p> + +<p>After many months’ detention in this prison, being closely watched and +badly treated, he was sentenced to hard labor in Siberia for life, +degraded from his rank as a noble, and ordered to make the journey in +chains. As soon as this was read to him, he was taken to a kibitka, +with three horses, irons were put on, and he was placed between two +armed soldiers; the gates of the fortress were shut, and the road to +Siberia was before him. An employee came up to M. Piotrowski, and +timidly offered him a small packet, saying—“Accept this from my +saint.” The convict not understanding, he added, “You are a Pole, and +do not know our customs. It is my fête-day, when it is above all a +duty to assist the unfortunate. Pray, accept it, then, in the name of +my saint, after whom I am called.” The packet contained bread, salt, +and money.</p> + +<p>Night and day the journey continued, with the utmost rapidity, for +about a month, when, in the middle of the night, they stopped at the +fortress of Omsk, where he was placed for a few hours with a young +officer who had committed some breach of discipline. They talked on +incessantly until the morning, so great was the pleasure of meeting +with an educated person. A map of Siberia was in the room, which +Piotrowski examined with feverish interest. “Ah!” said his companion, +“are you meditating flight? Pray, do not think of it: many of your +fellow-countrymen have tried it, and never succeeded.”</p> + +<p>At midday he was brought before Prince Gortchakoff, and the critical +moment of his fate arrived: he might either be sent to some of the +government factories in the neighborhood, or to the mines underground. +An hour passed in cruel suspense while this was debated. At length one +of the council announced to him that he was to be sent to the +distillery of Ekaterinski, three hundred miles to the north of Omsk. +The clerks around congratulated him on his destination, and his +departure was immediate.</p> + +<p>On a wintry morning he reached a vast plain near the river Irtish, on +which a village of about two hundred wooden huts was built around a +factory. When introduced into the clerks’ office, a young man who was +writing jumped up and threw himself into his arms: he also was a Pole +from Cracow, a well-known poet, and sent away for life as “a measure +of precaution.” Soon they were joined by another political criminal: +these spoke rapidly and with extreme emotion, entreating their new +friend to bear everything in the most submissive and patient manner, +as the only means of escaping from menial employment, and being +promoted to the clerks’ office. Not long was he permitted to rest. A +convict came and ordered him to take a broom and sweep away a mass of +dirt that some masons had left; a murderer was his companion; and thus +he went on until nightfall, when his two friends were permitted to +visit him, in the presence of the soldiers and convicts, most of the +latter of whom had been guilty of frightful crimes.</p> + +<p>Thus day after day passed on, in sweeping, carrying wood and water, +amid snow and frost. His good conduct brought him, in a year and a +half, to the office, where he received ten francs a month and his +rations, and the work was light. During this time he saw and conversed +with many farmers and travelers from a distance, and gained every +information about the roads, rivers, etc., with a view to the escape +he was ever meditating. Some of the natives unite with the soldiers in +exercising an incessant supervision over the convicts, and a common +saying among the Tartars is: “In killing a squirrel you get but one +skin, whilst a convict has three—his coat, his shirt, and his skin.”</p> + +<p>Slowly and painfully he collected the materials for his journey. First +of all, a passport was an essential. A convict who had been sentenced +for making false money, still possessed an excellent stamp of the +royal arms; this Piotrowski bought for a few francs. The sheet of +paper was easily obtained in the office, and the passport forged. +After long waiting, he procured a Siberian wig—that is, a sheepskin +with the wool turned in, to preserve the head from the cold—three +shirts, a sheepskin bournouse, and a red velvet cap bordered with +fur—the dress of a well-to-do peasant. On a sharp frosty night he +quitted Ekaterinski for Tara, having determined to try the road to the +north for Archangel, as the least frequented. A large fair was shortly +to be held at Irbit, at the foot of the Urals, and he hoped to hide +himself in the vast crowd of people that frequented it. Soon after he +had crossed the river a sledge was heard behind him. He trembled for +his safety—his pursuers were perhaps coming.</p> + +<p>“Where are you going?” shouted the peasant who drove it.</p> + +<p>“To Tara.”</p> + +<p>“Give me ten sous, and I will take you.”</p> + +<p>“No; it is too much. I will give eight.”</p> + +<p>“Well, so let it be. Jump in quickly.”</p> + +<p>He was set down in the street; and knocking at a house, inquired in +the Russian fashion—“Have you horses to hire?”</p> + +<p>“Yes—a pair. Where to?”</p> + +<p>“To Irbit. I am a commercial traveler, and going to meet my master. I +am behind my time, and wish to go as quickly as possible.”</p> + +<p>No sooner had they set off than a snow-storm came on, and the driver +lost his way. They wandered about all night in the forest, and it was +impossible to describe the anguish and suffering Piotrowski endured.</p> + +<p>“Return to Tara,” said he, as the day broke; “I will engage another +sledge; and you need not expect any money from me, after the folly you +have shown in losing your way.”</p> + +<p>They turned, but had hardly gone a mile before the driver jumped up, +looked around, and cried—“This is our road.” Then making up for lost +time, he set him down at a friend’s house, where he procured some tea +and fresh horses. On he went in safety, renewing his horses at small +expense, until late at night, when he suffered from a most unfortunate +robbery. He had not money at hand to pay the conductor. They turned +into a public-house, where a crowd of drunken people were celebrating +the carnival. He drew out some paper-money to get change, when the +crowd coming round, some one seized his papers, among which were +several rouble notes, his invaluable passport, and a note in which he +had minutely inscribed all the towns and villages he must pass through +on the road to Archangel. He was in despair. The very first day, a +quarter of his money was gone, and the only thing by which he hoped to +evade suspicion, his passport. He dare not appeal to the police, and +was obliged to submit.</p> + +<p>Regret and hesitation were not to be thought of. He soon found himself +on the high-road to Irbit, crowded with an innumerable mass of +sledges, going or returning to the fair. It is the season of gain and +good humor, and the people show it by unbounded gaiety. Piotrowski +took courage, returned the salutations of the passers-by—for how +could he be distinguished in such a crowd? The gates of Irbit were +reached on the third day. “Halt, and shew your passport,” cried an +official; but added in a whisper—“Give me twenty copecks, and pass +quickly.” The demand was willingly gratified, and with some difficulty +he procured a night’s lodging, lying on the floor amidst a crowd of +peasants, who had previously supped on radish-soup, dried fish, +oatmeal gruel, with oil and pickled cabbage.</p> + +<p>Up at daybreak, he took care to make the orthodox salutations, and +passing rapidly through the crowded town, he walked out of the +opposite gate, for, henceforwards, his scanty funds demanded that the +journey should be made on foot. In the midst of a heavily falling +snow, he managed to keep the track, avoiding the villages, and, when +hungry, drawing a piece of frozen bread from his bag. At nightfall, he +buried himself in the forest, hollowed a deep hole in the snow, and +found a hard but warm bed, where he gained the repose he so greatly +needed. Another hard day, with a dry cutting wind, forced him to ask +for shelter at night in a cottage, which was granted without +hesitation. He described himself as a workman, going to the +iron-foundries at Bohotole, on the Ural Mountains. Whilst the supper +was preparing, he dried his clothes, and stretched himself on a bench +with inexpressible satisfaction. He fancied he had neglected no +precautions; his prayers and salutations had been made; and yet +suspicion was awakened, as it appeared, by the sight of his three +shirts, which no peasant possesses. Three men entered, and roughly +shook him from sleep, demanding his passport.</p> + +<p>“By what right do you ask for it? Are you police?”</p> + +<p>“No; but we are inhabitants of the village.”</p> + +<p>“And can you enter houses, and ask for passports! Who can say whether +you do not mean to rob me of my papers? But my answer is ready. I am +Lavrenti Kouzmine, going to Bohotole; and it is not the first time I +have passed through the country.”</p> + +<p>He then entered into details of the road and the fair at Irbit, ending +by showing his permission to pass, which, as it bore a stamp, +satisfied these ignorant men.</p> + +<p>“Forgive us,” said they. “We thought you were an escaped convict; some +of them pass this way.”</p> + +<p>Henceforward, he dared not seek the shelter of a house. From the +middle of February to the beginning of April, in the midst of one of +the severest winters ever known, his couch was in the snow. Frozen +bread was his food for days together, and the absence of warm aliments +brought him face to face with the terrible spectres of cold and +hunger. The Urals were reached, and he began to climb their wooded +heights. On passing through a little village at nightfall, a voice +cried: “Who is there?”</p> + +<p>“A traveler.”</p> + +<p>“Well, would you like to come and sleep here?”</p> + +<p>“May God recompense you, yes; if it will not inconvenience you.”</p> + +<p>An aged couple lived there—good people, who prepared a meagre repast, +which seemed a feast to Piotrowski: the greatest comfort of all being +that he could take off his clothes.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg441-1.gif' id='xlg441-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>SIBERIAN EXILES.</p></div> + +<p>They gave him his breakfast, and would not accept any remuneration +but his warm and cordial thanks.</p> + +<p>One evening Piotrowski’s life was nearly extinct. The way was lost, +the hail pierced his skin, his supply of bread was exhausted, and +after vainly dragging his weary limbs, he fell into a kind of torpor. +A loud voice roused him—“What are you doing here?”</p> + +<p>“I am making a pilgrimage to the monastery of Solovetsk, but the storm +prevented my seeing the track, and I have not eaten for several days.”</p> + +<p>“It is not surprising. We who live on the spot often wander away. +There, drink that.”</p> + +<p>The speaker gave him a bottle containing some brandy, which burned him +so fearfully, that in his pain he danced about.</p> + +<p>“Now try to calm yourself,” said the good Samaritan, giving him some +bread and dried fish, which Piotrowski ate ravenously, saying—“I +thank you with all my heart. May God bless you for your goodness.”</p> + +<p>“Ah, well, do not say so much; we are both Christians. Now, try to +walk a little.”</p> + +<p>He was a trapper; and led him into the right path, pointing out a +village inn where he could get rest and refreshment. Piotrowski +managed to crawl to the place, and then fainted away. When he +recovered himself, he asked for radish-soup, but could not swallow it; +and toward noon he fell asleep on the bench, never awaking until the +same time on the next day, when the host roused him. Sleep, rest, and +warmth restored him, and he again started on his long pilgrimage.</p> + +<p>The town of Veliki-Ustiug was reached, where he determined to change +his character and become a pilgrim, going to pray to the holy images +of Solovetsk, on the White Sea. There are four of these holy places to +which pious Russians resort, and everywhere the wayfarers are well +received, hospitality and alms being freely dispensed to those who are +going to pray for the peace of the donor. Passports are not rigorously +exacted, and he hoped to join himself to a company, trusting to be +less marked than if alone. As he was standing irresolute in the +market-place, a young man accosted him, and finding that they were +bound to the same place, invited him to join their party. There were +about twenty; but no less than two thousand were in the city on their +way, waiting until the thaw should have opened the Dwina for the rafts +and boats which would transport them to Archangel, and then to +Solovetsk. It was a scene for Chaucer: the half-idiot, who sought to +be a saint; the knave who played upon the charity of others; and the +astute hypocrite. The rafts are loaded with corn, and the pilgrims +receive a free passage; or a small sum of money is given them, if they +consent to row; from forty to sixty sailors being required for each, +the oars consisting of a thin fir-tree. Piotrowski was only too happy +to increase his small store of money by working. At the break of day, +before starting, the captain cried—“Seat yourselves, and pray to +God.” Every one squatted down like a Mussulman for a moment, then rose +and made a number of salutations and crossings; and next, down to the +poorest, each threw a small piece of money into the river to secure a +propitious voyage.</p> + +<p>Fifteen days passed, during which Piotrowski learned to be an expert +oarsman. Then the golden spires of Archangel rose before them; a cry +of joy was uttered by all; and the rowers broke off the lower parts of +their oars with a frightful crash, according to the universal custom. +It was a heartfelt prayer of gratitude that Piotrowski raised to God +for having brought him thus far in safety. How pleasant was the sight +of the ships, with their flags of a thousand colors, after the snow +and eternal forests of the Urals! But there was again disappointment. +He wandered along the piers, but could not find a single vessel bound +for France or Germany, and not daring to enter the cafes, where +perhaps the captains might have been, he left Archangel in sadness, +determined to skirt the coast towards Onega. He would thus pass the +celebrated monastery without the necessity of stopping, and pretend +that he was proceeding to Novgorod and Moscow on the same pious +pilgrimage.</p> + +<p>Through marshes and blighted fir-plantations the weary wayfarer sped, +the White Sea rising frequently into storms of the utmost grandeur; +but the season was lovely, and the sun warm, so that camping out +offered less hardship. The wolves howled around him, but happily he +never saw them. Many soldiers, who were Poles, were established at +different points to take charge of the canals.</p> + +<p>Having reached Vytegra, he was accosted on the shore by a peasant, who +asked where he was going. On hearing his story, he said—“You are the +man I want. I am going to St. Petersburg. My boat is small, and you +can assist me to row.”</p> + +<p>The crafty fellow evidently intended to profit by the pilgrim’s arms +without wages; but, after long debate, he agreed to supply Piotrowski +with food during the transport. It seemed strange, indeed, to go to +the capital—like running into the jaws of the lion—but he seized +every occasion to pass on, lest his papers should be asked for. As +they coasted down through Lake Ladoga and the Neva, they took in some +women as passengers, who were servants, and had been home to see their +parents. One of them, an aged washerwoman, was so teased by the +others, that Piotrowski took her part, and in return she offered him +some very useful assistance.</p> + +<p>“My daughter,” she said, “will come to meet me, and she will find you +a suitable lodging.”</p> + +<p>It will be guessed with what joy he accepted the proposal; and during +all the time spent in the boat, no one came to ask for passports. The +house she took him to was sufficiently miserable; as the Russians say, +“It was the bare ground, with the wrist for a pillow.” He asked his +hostess if he must see the police to arrange the business of his +passport. “No,” she said. “If you only stay a few days, it is useless. +They have become so exacting, that they would require me to accompany +you, and my time is too precious.”</p> + +<p>As he passed along the quays, looking for a ship, his eyes rested on +one to sail for Riga on the following morning. He could scarcely +master his emotion. The pilot on board called out—“If you want a +place to Riga, come here.”</p> + +<p>“I certainly want one; but I am too poor to sail in a steamer. It +would cost too much.”</p> + +<p>He named a very small sum, and said—“Come; why do you hesitate?”</p> + +<p>“I only arrived yesterday, and the police have not <i>visé</i> my +passport.”</p> + +<p>“That will occupy three days. Go without a visé. Be here at seven +o’clock, and wait for me.”</p> + +<p>Both were to their time. The sailor said, “Give me some money,” and +handed him a yellow paper; the clock struck; the barrier was opened, +and, like a dream, he was safely on the ocean.</p> + +<p>From Riga he went through Courland and Lithuania. The difficulty of +crossing the Russian frontier into Prussia was still to be managed. He +chose the daytime; and when sentinels had each turned their backs, he +jumped over the wall of the first of the three glacis. No noise was +heard. The second was tried, and the firing of pistols showed that he +was perceived. He rushed on to the third, and, breathless and +exhausted, gained a little wood, where for many hours he remained +concealed. He was in Prussia. Wandering on through Mernel, Tilsit, and +Konigsberg, he decided at the last place to take a ship the next +morning to Elbing, where he would be near to Posen, and among his +compatriots. Sitting down on a heap of stones, he intended taking +refuge for the night in a corn-field; but sleep overcame him, and he +was rudely awakened in the darkness by a policeman. His stammering and +confused replies awakened suspicion, and to his shame and grief, he +was carried off to prison. He announced himself as a French +cotton-spinner, but returning from Russia, and without a passport. Not +a word he said was believed. At length, after a month’s detention, +weary of being considered a concealed malefactor, he asked to speak to +M. Fleury, a French advocate, who assisted at his trial. To him he +confessed the whole truth. Nothing could equal his advocate’s +consternation and astonishment.</p> + +<p>“What a misfortune!” he said. “We must give you up to the Russians; +they have just sent many of your countrymen, across the frontier. +There is but one way. Write to Count Eulenberg; tell your story, and +trust to his mercy.”</p> + +<p>After ten days he received a vague reply, desiring him to have +patience. The affair got wind in the town, and a gentleman came to +him, asking if he would accept him as bail. Efforts had been made in +his favor, and the police were ready to set him free. M. Kamke, his +kind friend, took him home, and entertained him for a week; but an +order came from Berlin to send the prisoner back to Russia, and he +received warning in time to escape. Letters to various friends on the +way were given him, to facilitate his journey; and just four years +after he had left Paris he reached it in safety again, after having +crossed the Urals, slept for months in the snow, jumped over the +Russian frontier in the midst of balls, and passed through so many +sufferings and privations.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_446'></a> +<img src="images/sm446-1.gif" id='sm446-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXVIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXVIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>I remained in Irkutsk until snow fell, and the winter roads were +suitable for travel. One day the moving portion of the city was on +wheels: the next saw it gliding on runners. The little sleighs of the +<i>isvoshchiks</i> are exactly like those of St. Petersburg and +Moscow,—miniature affairs where you sit with your face within six +inches of the driver’s back, and cannot take a friend at your side +without much crowding. They move rapidly, and it is a fortunate +provision that they are cheap. In all large cities and towns of Russia +many <i>isvoshchiks</i> go to spend the winter. With a horse and little +sleigh and a cash capital sufficient to buy a license, one of these +enterprising fellows will set up in business. Nobody thinks of walking +in Moscow or St. Petersburg, unless his journey or his purse is very +short. It is said there are thirty thousand sleighs for public hire in +St. Petersburg alone, during the winter months, and two-thirds that +number in Moscow. The interior towns are equally well supplied in +proportion to their population.</p> + +<p>One may naturally suppose that accidents are frequent where there are +many vehicles and fast driving is the fashion. Accidents are rare from +the fact that drivers are under severe penalties if they run over any +one. Furthermore the horses are quick and intelligent, and being +driven without blinkers, can use their eyes freely. To my mind this +plan is better than ours, and most foreigners living in Russia are +inclined to adopt it. Considered as an ornament a blinker decorates a +horse about as much as an eye shade does a man.</p> + +<p>With the first fall of snow, I began preparations for departure. I +summoned a tailor and gave orders for a variety of articles in fur and +sheep-skin for the road. He measured me for a coat, a cap, a pair of +stockings, and a sleigh robe, all in sheep-skin. He then took the size +of my ears for a pair of lappets, and proposed fur socks to be worn +under the stockings. When the accumulated result of his labors was +piled upon the floor of my room, I was alarmed at its size, and +wondered if it could ever be packed in a single sleigh. Out of a bit +of sable skin a lady acquaintance constructed a mitten for my nose, to +be worn when the temperature was lowest. It was not an improvement to +one’s personal appearance though very conducive to comfort.</p> + +<p>To travel by <i>peraclodnoi</i> (changing the vehicle at every station) is +bad enough in summer but ten times bad in winter. To turn out every +two or three hours with the thermometer any distance below zero, and +shift baggage and furs from one sleigh to another is an absolute +nuisance. Yery few persons travel by <i>peraclodnoi</i> in winter, and one +does not find many sleighs at the post stations from the fact that +they are seldom demanded. Nearly all travelers buy their sleighs +before starting, and sell them when their journeys are ended.</p> + +<p>I surveyed the Irkutsk market and found several sleighs ‘up’ for sale. +Throughout Siberia a sleigh manufactured at Kazan is preferred, it +being better made and more commodious than its rivals. My attention +was called to several vehicles of local manufacture but my friends +advised me not to try them. I sought a <i>Kazanski kibitka</i> and with the +aid of an intelligent <i>isvoshchik</i> succeeded in finding one. Its +purchase was accomplished in a manner peculiarly Russian.</p> + +<p>The seller was a <i>mischanin</i> or Russian merchant of the peasant class. +Accompanied by a friend I called at his house and our negotiation +began over a lunch and a bottle of nalifka. We said nothing on the +subject nearest my heart and his, for at least a half hour, but +conversed on general topics. My friend at length dropped a hint that I +thought of taking up my residence at Irkutsk. This was received with +delight, and a glass of nalifka, supplementary to at least half a +dozen glasses I had already swallowed.</p> + +<p>“Why don’t you come to sleighs at once, and settle the matter?” I +asked. “He probably knows what we want, and if we keep on at this rate +I shall need a sleigh to go home in.”</p> + +<p>“Don’t be impatient,” said my friend; “you don’t understand these +people; you must angle them gently. When you want to make a trade, +begin a long way from it. If you want to buy a horse, pretend that you +want to sell a cow, but don’t mention the horse at first. If you do +you will never succeed.”</p> + +<p>We hedged very carefully and finally reached the subject. This was so +overpowering that we took a drink while the merchant ordered the +sleigh dragged into the court yard. We had another glass before we +adjourned for the inspection, a later one when we returned to the +house, and another as soon as we were seated. After this our +negotiations proceeded at a fair pace, but there were many vacuums of +language that required liquid filling. After endeavoring to lower his +price, I closed with him and we clenched the bargain with a drink. +Sleighs were in great demand, as many persons were setting out for +Russia, and I made sure of my purchase by paying on the spot and +taking a glass of nalifka. As a finale to the transaction, he urged me +to drink again, begged my photograph, and promised to put an extra +something to the sleigh.</p> + +<p>The Siberian peasant classes are much like the Chinese in their manner +of bargaining. Neither begins at the business itself, but at something +entirely different. A great deal of time, tea, and tobacco is consumed +before the antagonists are fairly met. When the main subject is +reached they gradually approach and conclude the bargain about where +both expected and intended. An American would come straight to the +point, and dealing with either of the above races his bluntness would +endanger the whole affair. In many matters this patient angling is +advantageous, and nowhere more so than in diplomacy. Every one will +doubtless acknowledge the Russians unsurpassed in diplomatic skill. +They possess the faculty of touching gently, and playing with their +opponents, to a higher degree than any nation of Western Europe. +Other things being equal, this ability will bring success.</p> + +<p>There are several descriptions of sleigh for Siberian travel. At the +head, stands the <i>vashok</i>, a box-like affair with a general +resemblance to an American coach on runners. It has a door at each +side and glass windows and is long enough for one to lie at full +length.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm450-1.gif' id='sm450-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A VASHOK.</p></div> + +<p>Three persons with limited baggage can find plenty of room in a +vashok. A <i>kibitka</i> is shaped much like a tarantass, or like a New +England chaise stretched to about seven feet long by four in width. +There is a sort of apron that can be let down from the hood and +fastened with straps and buckles to the boot. The boot can be buttoned +to the sides of the vehicle and completely encloses the occupants. The +vashok is used by families or ladies, but the kibitka is generally +preferred by men on account of the ability to open it in fine weather, +and close it at night or in storms.</p> + +<p>A sleigh much like this but less comfortable is called a <i>povoska</i>. In +either of them, the driver sits on the forward part with his feet +hanging over the side. His perch is not very secure, and on a rough +road he must exercise care to prevent falling off. “Why don’t you have +a better seat for your driver?” I asked of my friend, when negotiating +for a sleigh. “Oh,” said he, “this is the best way as he cannot go to +sleep. If he had a better place he would sleep and lose time by slow +traveling.”</p> + +<p>A sleigh much used by Russian merchants is shaped like an elongated +mill-hopper. It has enormous carrying capacity, and in bad weather +can be covered with matting to exclude cold and snow. It is large, +heavy, and cumbersome, and adapted to slow travel, and when much +luggage is to be carried. All these concerns are on runners about +thirty inches apart, and generally shod with iron. On each side there +is a fender or outrigger which serves the double purpose of +diminishing injury from collisions and preventing the overturn of the +sleigh. It is a stout pole attached to the forward end of the sleigh, +and sloping downward and outward toward the rear where it is two feet +from the runner, and held by strong braces. On a level surface it does +not touch the snow, but should the sleigh tilt from any cause the +outrigger will generally prevent an overturn. In collision with other +sleighs, the fender plays an important part. I have been occasionally +dashed against sleds and sleighs when the chances of a smash-up +appeared brilliant. The fenders met like a pair of fencing foils, and +there was no damage beyond the shock of our meeting.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm451-1.gif' id='sm451-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A KIBITKA.</p></div> + +<p>The horses are harnessed in the Russian manner, one being under a yoke +in the shafts, and the others, up to five or six, attached outside. +There is no seat in the interior of the sleigh. Travelers arrange +their baggage and furs to as good a level as possible and fill the +crevices with hay or straw. They sit, recline, or lie at their option. +Pillows are a necessity of winter travel.</p> + +<p>I exchanged my trunk for a chemadan of enormous capacity, and long +enough to extend across the bottom, of my sleigh. For the first +thousand versts, to Krasnoyarsk, I arranged to travel with a young +officer of engineers whose baggage consisted of two or three hundred +pounds of geological specimens. For provisions we ordered beef, +cabbage soup, little cakes like ‘mince turnovers,’ and a few other +articles. Tea and sugar were indispensable, and had a prominent place. +Our soups, meat, pies, <i>et cetera</i> were frozen and only needed thawing +at the stations to be ready for use.</p> + +<p>The day before my departure was the peculiar property of Saint +Inakentief, the only saint who belongs especially to Siberia. +Everybody kept the occasion in full earnest, the services commencing +the previous evening when nearly everybody got drunk. I had a variety +of preparations in the shape of mending, making bags, tying up bundles +and the like, but though I offered liberal compensation neither +man-servant nor maid-servant would lend assistance. Labor was not to +be had on any terms, and I was obliged to do my own packing. There are +certain saints’ days in the year when a Russian peasant will no more +work than would a Puritan on Sunday. All who could do so on the day +above mentioned visited the church four miles from Irkutsk, where +Saint Inakentief lies buried.</p> + +<p>I occupied the fashionable hours of the two days before my departure +in making farewell visits according to Russian etiquette. Not +satisfied with their previous courtesy my friends arranged a dinner at +the club rooms for the last evening of my stay at Irkutsk. The other +public dinners were of a masculine character, but the farewell +entertainment possessed the charm of the presence of fifteen or twenty +ladies. General Shelashnikoff, Governor of Irkutsk, and acting +Governor General during the absence of General Korsackoff, presided at +the table. We dined directly before the portraits of the last and +present emperors of Russia, and as I looked at the likeness of +Nicholas I thought I had never seen it half as amiable.</p> + +<p>After the dinner the tables disappeared with magical rapidity and a +dance began. While I was talking in a corner behind a table, a large +album containing views of Irkutsk was presented to me as a souvenir of +my visit. The <i>golovah</i> was prominent in the presentation, and when it +was ended he urged me to be his <i>vis a vis</i> in a quadrille. Had he +asked me to walk a tight rope or interpret a passage of Sanscrit, I +should have been about as able to comply. My education in ‘the light +fantastic’ has been extremely limited, and my acquaintances will +testify that nature has not adapted me to achievements in the +Terpsichorean art.</p> + +<p>I resisted all entreaties to join the dance up to that evening. I +urged that I never attempted it a dozen times in my life, and not at +all within ten years. The golovah declared he had not danced in +twenty-five years, and knew as little of the art as I did. There was +no more to be said. I resigned myself to the pleasures awaiting me, +and ventured on the floor very much as an elephant goes on a newly +frozen mill-pond. Personal diffidence and a regard for truth forbid a +laudatory account of my success. I did walk through a quadrille, but +when it came to the Mazurka I was as much out of place as a blind man +in a picture gallery.</p> + +<p>My arrangement to travel with the geologic officer and his heavy +baggage fell through an hour before our starting time. A now plan was +organized and included my taking Captain Paul in my sleigh to +Krasnoyarsk. Two ladies of our acquaintance were going thither, and I +gladly waited a few hours for the pleasure of their company. When my +preparations were completed, I drove to the house of Madame Rodstvenny +whence we were to set out. The madame and her daughter were to travel +in a large kibitka, and had bestowed two servants with much baggage +and provisions in a vashok. With our three vehicles we made a +dignified procession.</p> + +<p>We dined at three o’clock, and were ready to start an hour later. Just +before leaving the house all were seated around the principal room, +and for a minute there was perfect silence. On rising all who +professed the religion of the Greek Church bowed to the holy picture +and made the sign of the cross. This custom prevails throughout +Russia, and is never omitted when a journey is to be commenced.</p> + +<p>There was a gay party to conduct us to the first station, +conveniently situated only eight miles away. At the ferry we found +the largest assemblage I saw in Irkutsk, not excepting the crowd at +the fire. The ferry boat was on the other side of the river, and as I +glanced across I saw something that caused me to look more intently. +It was a little past sunset, and the gathering night showed somewhat +indistinctly the American and Russian flags floating side by side on +the boat. My national colors were in the majority.</p> + +<p>The scene was rendered more picturesque by a profusion of Chinese +lanterns lighting every part of the boat. The golovah stood at my side +to enjoy my astonishment. It was to his kindness and attention that +this farewell courtesy was due. He had the honor of unfurling the +first American flag that ever floated over the Angara—and his little +surprise raised a goodly sized lump in the throat of his guest.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg454-1.gif' id='lg454-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FAREWELL TO IRKUTSK.</p></div> + +<p>Our party was so large that the boat made two journeys to ferry us +over the water. I remained till the last, and on the bank of the river +bade adieu to Irkutsk and its hospitable citizens. I may not visit +them again, but I can never forget the open hearted kindness I +enjoyed. The Siberians have a climate of great severity, but its +frosts and snows have not been able to chill the spirit of genuine +courtesy, as every traveler in that region can testify. Hospitality is +a custom of the country, and all the more pleasing because heartily +and cheerfully bestowed.</p> + +<p>The shades of night were falling fast as I climbed the river bank, and +began my sleigh ride toward the west. The arched gateway at Irkutsk +close by the ferry landing, is called the Moscow entrance, and is said +to face directly toward the ancient capital. As I reached the road, I +shouted “<i>poshol</i>” to the yemshick, and we dashed off in fine style. +At the church or monastery six versts away, I overtook our party. The +ladies were in the chapel offering their prayers for a prosperous +journey. When they emerged we were ready to go forward over a road not +remarkable for its smoothness.</p> + +<p>At the first station our friends joined us in taking tea. Cups, +glasses, cakes, champagne bottles, cakes and cold meats, crept somehow +from mysterious corners in our vehicles. The station master was +evidently accustomed to visits like this, as his rooms were ready for +our reception. We were two hours in making our adieus, and consuming +the various articles provided for the occasion. There was a general +kissing all around at the last moment.</p> + +<p>We packed the ladies in their sleigh, and then entered our own. As we +left the station our friends joined their voices in a farewell song +that rang in our ears till lost in the distance, and drowned by nearer +sounds. Our bells jingled merrily in the frosty air as our horses sped +rapidly along the road. We closed the front of our sleigh, and settled +among our furs and pillows. The night was cold, but in my thick +wrappings I enjoyed a tropical warmth and did not heed the low state +of the thermometer.</p> + +<p>Our road for seventy versts lay along the bank of the Angara. A thick +fog filled the valley and seemed to hug close to the river. In the +morning every part of our sleigh except at the points of friction, was +white with frost. Each little fibre projecting from our cover of +canvas and matting became a miniature stalactite, and the head of +every nail, bolt, and screw, buried itself beneath a mass like +oxydised silver. Everything had seized upon and congealed some of the +moisture floating in the atmosphere. Our horses were of the color, or +no color, of rabbits in January; it was only by brushing away the +frost that the natural tint of their hair could be discovered, and +sometimes there was a great deal of frost adhering to them.</p> + +<p>During my stay at Irkutsk I noticed the prevalence of this fog or +frost cloud. It usually formed during the night and was thickest near +the river. In the morning it enveloped the whole city, but when the +sun was an hour or two in the heavens, the mist began to melt away. It +remained longest over the river, and I was occasionally in a thick +cloud on the bank of the Angara when the atmosphere a hundred yards +away was perfectly clear. The moisture congealed on every stationary +object. Houses and fences were cased in ice, its thickness varying +with the condition of the weather. Trees and bushes became masses of +crystals, and glistened in the sunlight as if formed of diamonds. I +could never wholly rid myself of the impression that some of the trees +were fountains caught and frozen when in full action. The frost played +curious tricks of artistic skill, and its delineations were sometimes +marvels of beauty.</p> + +<p>Any one who has visited St. Petersburg in winter remembers the effect +of a fog from the Gulf of Finland after a period of severe cold. The +red granite columns of St. Isaac’s church are apparently transformed +into spotless marble by the congelation of moisture on their surface. +In the same manner I have seen a gray wall at Irkutsk changed in a +night and morning to a dazzling whiteness. The crystalline formation +of the frost had all the varieties of the kaleidoscope without its +colors.</p> + +<p>I slept well during the night, awaking occasionally at the stations or +when the sleigh experienced an unusually heavy thump. In the morning I +learned we had traveled a hundred and sixty versts from Irkutsk. The +road was magnificent after leaving the valley of the Angara, and the +sleigh glided easily and with very little jolting.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>“No cloud above, no earth below;<br /></span> +<span> A universe of sky and snow.”<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>I woke to daylight and found a monotonous country destitute of +mountains and possessing few hills. It was generally wooded, and where +under cultivation near the villages there was an appearance of +fertility. There were long distances between the clusters of houses, +and I was continually reminded of the abundant room for increase of +population.</p> + +<p>We stopped for breakfast soon after sunrise. The samovar was ordered, +and our servants brought a creditable supply of toothsome little cakes +and pies. These with half a dozen cups of tea to each person prepared +us for a ride of several hours. We dined a little before sunset, and +for one I can testify that full justice was done to the dinner.</p> + +<p>Very little can be had at the stations on this road, so that +experienced travelers carry their own provisions. One can always +obtain hot water, and generally bread, and eggs, but nothing else is +certain. In winter, provisions can be easily carried as the frost +preserves them alike from decaying or crushing. Soup, meats, bread, +and other edibles can be carried on long routes with perfect facility. +There is a favorite preparation for Russian travel under the name of +<i>pilmania</i>. It is a little ball of minced meat covered with dough, the +whole being no larger than a robin’s egg. In a frozen state a bag full +of pilmania is like the same quantity of walnuts or marbles, and can +be tossed about with impunity. When a traveler wishes to dine upon +this article he orders a pot of boiling water and tosses a double +handful of pilmania into it. After five minutes boiling the mass is +ready to be eaten in the form of soup. Salt, pepper, and vinegar can +be used with it to one’s liking.</p> + +<p>Our <i>diner du voyage</i> consisted of pilmania, roast beef, and partridge +with bread, cakes, tea, and quass. Our table furniture was somewhat +limited, and the room was littered with garments temporarily +discarded. The ladies were crinolineless, and their coiffures were +decidedly not Parisian. My costume was a cross between a shooting +outfit and the everyday dress of a stevedore, while my hair appeared +as if recently dressed with a currant bush. Captain Paul was equally +unpresentable in fastidious parlors, but whatever our apparel it did +not diminish the keenness of our appetites. The dinner was good, and +the diners were hungry and happy. Fashion is wholly rejected on the +Siberian road, and each one makes his toilet without regard to French +principles and tastes.</p> + +<p>According to Russian custom, somebody was to be thanked for the meal. +As the dinner came from the provisions in the servants’ sleigh we +presented our acknowledgments to Madame Rodstvenny. With the +forethought of an experienced traveler the lady had carefully provided +her edibles and so abundant was her store that my supply was rarely +drawn upon. We were more like a pic-nic party than a company of +travelers on a long journey in a Siberian winter. Mademoiselle was +fluent in French, and charming in its use. The only drawback to +general conversation was my inability to talk long with Madame except +by interpretation. In our halts we managed to pass the time in +tea-drinking, conversation, and sometimes with music of an impromptu +character. I remember favoring air appreciative audience with a solo +on a trunk key, followed by mademoiselle and the captain in a duett on +a tin cup and a horn comb covered with letter paper.</p> + +<p>There was very little scenery worthy of note. The villages generally +lay in single streets each containing from ten to a hundred houses. +Between these clusters of dwellings there was little to be seen beyond +a succession of wooded ridges with stretches of open ground. The +continued snow-scape offered no great variety on the first day’s +travel, and before night I began to think it monotonous. The villages +were from ten to twenty miles apart, and very much the same in general +characteristics. The stations had a family likeness. Each had a +travelers’ room more or less comfortable, and a few apartments for the +smotretal and his attendants. The travelers’ room had some rough +chairs, one or two hard sofas or benches, and the same number of +tables. While the horses were being changed we had our option to enter +the station or stay out of doors. I generally preferred the latter +alternative on account of the high temperature of the waiting rooms, +which necessitated casting off one’s outer garment on entering. During +our halts I was fain to refresh myself with a little leg stretching +and found it a great relief.</p> + +<p>The first movement at a station is to present the padaroshnia and +demand horses. Marco Polo says, that the great Khan of Tartary had +posting stations twenty-five miles apart on the principal roads of his +empire. A messenger or traveler carried a paper authorizing him to +procure horses, and was always promptly supplied. The padaroshnia is +of ancient date, if Marco be trustworthy. It is not less important to +a Russian traveler at present than to a Tartar one in earlier times. +Our documents were efficacious, and usually brought horses with little +delay. The size of our party was a disadvantage as we occasionally +found one or two sets of horses ready but were obliged to wait a short +time for a third. Paul had a permit to impress horses in the villages +while I carried a special passport requesting the authorities to ‘lend +me all needed assistance.’ This was generally construed into +despatching me promptly, and we rarely failed with a little persuasion +and money, to secure horses for the third sleigh.</p> + +<p>When we entered the stations for any purpose the sleighs and their +contents remained unguarded in the streets, but we never lost anything +by theft. With recollections of my experience at stage stations in +America, I never felt quite at ease at leaving our property to care +for itself. My companions assured me that thefts from posting vehicles +seldom occur although the country numbers many convicts among its +inhabitants. The native Siberians have a reputation for honesty, and +the majority of the exiles for minor offences lead correct lives. I +presume that wickedly inclined persons in villages are deterred from +stealing on account of the probability of detection and punishment. So +far as my experience goes the inhabitants of Siberia are more honest +that those of European Russia. In Siberia our sleighs required no +watching when we left them. After passing the Ural mountains it was +necessary to hire a man to look after our property when we breakfasted +and dined.</p> + +<p>The horses being the property of the station we paid for them at every +change. On no account was the <i>navodku</i> or drink-money to the driver +forgotten, and it varied according to the service rendered. If the +driver did well but made no special exertion we gave him eight or ten +copecks, and increased the amount as we thought he deserved. On the +other hand if he was obstinate and unaccommodating he obtained +nothing. If he argued that the regulations required only a certain +speed we retorted that the regulations said nothing about drink-money. +In general we found the yemshicks obliging and fully entitled to their +gratuities. We went at breakneck pace where the roads permitted, and +frequently where they did not. A travelers’ speed depends considerably +on the drink-money he is reported to have given on the previous stage. +If illiberal to a good driver or liberal to a bad one he cannot expect +rapid progress.</p> + +<p>The regulations require a speed of ten versts (6-2/3 miles) per hour +for vehicles not on government service. If the roads are bad the +driver can lessen his pace, but he must make all proper exertion to +keep up to the schedule. When they are good and the driver is thirsty +(as he generally is), the regulations are not heeded. We arranged for +my sleigh to lead, and that of the servants to bring up the rear. +Whatever speed we went the others were morally certain to follow, and +our progress was frequently exciting. Money was potent, and we +employed it. Fifteen copecks was a liberal gratuity, and twenty +bordered on the munificent. When we increased our offer to twenty-five +or thirty it was pretty certain to awaken enthusiasm. Sometimes the +pecuniary argument failed, and obliged us to proceed at the legal +rate. In such cases we generally turned aside and placed the ladies in +advance.</p> + +<p>We made twelve, fourteen, or sixteen versts per hour, and on one +occasion I held my watch, and found that we traveled a trifle less +than twenty-two versts or about fourteen and a half miles in sixty +minutes. I do not think I ever rode in America at such a pace (without +steam) except once when a horse ran away with me. Ordinarily we +traveled faster than the rate prescribed by regulation, and only when +the roads were bad did we fall below it. We studied the matter of +drink-money till it became an exact science.</p> + +<p>About noon on the first day from Irkutsk we took a yemshick who proved +sullen in the highest degree. The country was gently undulating, and +the road superb but our promises of navodku were of no avail. We +offered and entreated in vain. As a last resort we shouted in French +to the ladies and suggested that they take the lead. Our yemshick +ordered his comrade to keep his place, and refused to turn aside to +allow him to pass. He even slackened his speed and drew his horses to +a walk. Our stout-armed <i>garcon</i> took a position on our sleigh, and by +a fistic argument succeeded in turning us aside. We made only fair +progress, and were glad when the drive was ended.</p> + +<p>When we began our rapid traveling, I had fears that the sleigh would +go to pieces in consequence, but was soon convinced that everything +was lovely. The sport was exciting, and greatly relieved the monotony +of travel. We were so protected by furs, pillows, blankets, and hay, +that our jolting and bounding had no serious result. The ladies +enjoyed it as much as ourselves, and were not at all inconvenienced by +any ordinary shaking. Once at the end of a furious ride of twenty +versts, I found the madame asleep and learned that she had been so +since leaving the last station.</p> + +<p>I have ridden much in American stage coaches, and witnessed some fine +driving in the west and in California. But for rapidity and dash, +commend me always to the Siberian yemshicks.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XXXIX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XXXIX.</h2></div> + + +<p>On the second morning we stopped at Tulemsk to deliver several boxes +that encumbered the sleighs. The servants have a way of putting small +articles, and sometimes large ones, in the forward end of the vehicle. +They are no special annoyance to a person of short stature, but in my +own case I was not reconciled to the practice. A Russian sleigh is +shaped somewhat like a laundry smoothing-iron, much narrower forward +than aft, so that a traveler does not usually find the space beneath +the driver a world too wide for his shrunk shanks.</p> + +<p>We thawed out over a steaming samovar with plenty of hot tea. The lady +of the house brought a bottle of nalifka of such curious though +agreeable flavor that I asked of what fruit it was made. “Nothing but +orange peel,” was the reply. Every Siberian housewife considers it her +duty to prepare a goodly supply of nalifka during the autumn. A glass +jar holding two or three gallons is filled to the neck with any kind +of fruit or berries, currants and gooseberries being oftenest used. +The jar is then filled with native whisky, and placed in a southern +window where it is exposed to the sunlight and the heat of the room +for ten days. The whisky is then poured off, mixed with an equal +quantity of water, placed in a kettle with a pound of sugar to each +gallon, and boiled for a few minutes. When cooled and strained it is +bottled and goes to the cellar. Many Siberians prefer nalifka to +foreign wines, and a former governor-general attempted to make it +fashionable. He eschewed imported wine and substituted nalifka, but +his example was not imitated to the extent he desired.</p> + +<p>Our halt consumed three or four hours. After we started an unfortunate +pig was found entangled in the framework of my sleigh, and before we +could let him out he was pretty well bruised and shaken up. How he +came there we were puzzled to know, but I do not believe he ever +willingly troubled a sleigh again.</p> + +<p>We encountered many caravans of sleds laden with merchandise. They +were made up much like the trains I described between Kiachta and Lake +Baikal, there being four or five sleds to each man. The horses +generally guided themselves, and followed their leaders with great +fidelity. While we were stopping to make some repairs near the foot of +a hill, I was interested in the display of equine intelligence. As a +caravan reached the top of the hill each horse stopped till the one +preceding him had descended. Holding back as if restrained by reins he +walked half down the descent, and then finished the hill and crossed +the hollow below it at a trot. One after another passed in this manner +without guidance, exactly as if controlled by a driver.</p> + +<p>I noticed that the horses were quite skillful in selecting the best +parts of the road. I have occasionally seen a horse pause when there +were three or four tracks through the snow, and make his choice with +apparent deliberation. I recollect a school boy composition that +declared in its first sentence, ‘the horse is a noble animal,’ but I +never knew until I traveled in Siberia how much he is entitled to a +patent of nobility.</p> + +<p>In the daytime we had little trouble with these caravans, as they +generally gave us the road on hearing our bells. If the way was wide +the horses usually turned aside of their own accord; where it was +narrow they were unwilling to step in the snow, and did not until +directed by their drivers. If the latter were dilatory our yemshicks +turned aside and revenged themselves by lashing some of the sled +horses and all the drivers they could reach. In the night we found +more difficulty as the caravan horses desired to keep the road, and +their drivers were generally asleep. We were bumped against +innumerable sleds in the hours of darkness. The outriggers alone +prevented our sleighs going to pieces. The trains going eastward +carried assorted cargoes of merchandise for Siberia and China. Those +traveling westward were generally loaded with tea in chests, covered +with cowhide. The amount of traffic over the principal road through +Siberia is very large.</p> + +<p>When we halted for dinner I brought a bottle of champagne from, my +sleigh. It was the best of the ‘Cliquot’ brand and frozen as solid as +a block of ice. It stood half an hour in a warm room before thawing +enough to drip slowly into our glasses and was the most perfect +<i>champagne frappé</i> I ever saw. A bottle of cognac was a great deal +colder than ordinary ice, and when we brought it into the station the +moisture in the warm room congealed upon it to the thickness of +card-board. After this display I doubted the existence of latent heat +in alcohol.</p> + +<p>Just as we finished dinner the post with five vehicles was announced. +We hastened to put on our furs and sprang into the sleighs with the +least possible delay. There was no fear that we should lose the first +and second set of horses, but the last one might be taken for the post +as the ladies had only a third-class padaroshnia. The yemshicks were +as anxious to escape as ourselves, as the business of carrying the +mail does not produce navodka. The post between Irkutsk and +Krasnoyarsk passes twice a week each way, and we frequently +encountered it. Where it had just passed a station there was +occasionally a scarcity of horses that delayed us till village teams +were brought.</p> + +<p>A postillion accompanies each convoy, and is responsible for its +security. Travelers sometimes purchase tickets and have their vehicles +accompany the post, but in so doing their patience is pretty severely +taxed. The postillion is a soldier or other government employé, and +must be armed to repel robbers. One of these conductors was a boy of +fourteen who appeared under heavy responsibility. I watched him +loading a pistol at a station and was amused at his ostentatious +manner. When the operation was completed he fixed the weapon in his +belt and swaggered out with the air of the heavy tragedian at the Old +Bowery. Another postillion stuck around with pistols and knives looked +like a military museum on its travels.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg465-1.gif' id='lg465-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE CONDUCTOR.</p></div> + +<p>From our dining station we left the main road, and traveled several +versts along the frozen surface of the Birusa river. The snow lay in +ridges, and as we drove rapidly over them we were tossed like a yawl +in a hopping sea. It was a foretaste of what was in store for me at +later periods of my journey. The Birusa is rich in gold deposits, and +the government formerly maintained extensive mining establishments in +its valley.</p> + +<p>About nine o’clock in the evening we voted to take tea. On entering +the station I found the floor covered with a dormant mass, exhaling an +odor not altogether spicy. I bumped my head against a sort of wide +shelf suspended eighteen or twenty inches from the ceiling, and +sustaining several sleepers.</p> + +<p>“Here” said Paul, “is another <i>chambre á coucher</i>” as he attempted to +pull aside a curtain at the top of the brick stove. A female head and +shoulders were exposed for an instant, until a stout hand grasped and +retained the curtain. The suspended shelf or false ceiling is quite +common in the peasant houses, and especially at the stations. The +yemshicks and other attachés of the concern are lodged here and on the +floor, beds being a luxury they rarely obtain. Frequently a small +house would be as densely packed as the steerage of a passenger ship, +and I never desired to linger in these crowded apartments. A Russian +house has little or no ventilation, and the effect of a score of +sleepers on the air of a room is ‘better imagined than described.’</p> + +<p>On the road west of Irkutsk the rules require each smotretal to keep +ten teams or thirty horses, ready for use. Many of them have more than +that number, and the villages can supply any ordinary demand after the +regular force is exhausted. Fourteen yemshicks are kept at every +station, and always ready for service. They are boarded at the expense +of the smotretal, and receive about five roubles each per month, with +as much drink-money as they can obtain. Frequently they make two +journeys a day to the next station, returning without loads. They +appeared on the most amiable terms with each other, and I saw no +quarreling over their work.</p> + +<p>On our first and second nights from Irkutsk the weather was cold, the +thermometer standing at fifteen or twenty degrees below zero. On the +third day the temperature rose quite rapidly, and by noon it was just +below the freezing point. Our furs designed for cold weather became +uncomfortably warm, and I threw off my outer garments and rode in my +sheepskin coat. In the evening we experienced a feeling of suffocation +on closing the sleigh, and were glad to open it again. We rode all +night with the wind beating pleasantly against our faces, and from +time to time lost our consciousness in sleep. For nearly two days the +warm weather continued, and subjected us to inconveniences. We did not +travel as rapidly as in the colder days, the road being less +favorable, and the horses diminishing their energy with the increased +warmth. Some of our provisions were in danger of spoiling as they were +designed for transportation only in a frozen state.</p> + +<p>Between Nijne Udinsk and Kansk the snow was scanty, and the road +occasionally bad. The country preserved its slightly undulating +character, and presented no features of interest. Where we found +sufficient snow we proceeded rapidly, sometimes leaving the summer +road and taking to the open ground, and forests on either side. We +pitched into a great many <i>oukhabas</i>, analagous to American “hog +wallows” or “cradle holes.” To dash into one of these at full speed +gives a shock like a boat’s thumping on the shore. It is only with +pillows, furs, and hay that a traveler can escape contusions. In mild +doses <i>oukhabas</i> are an excellent tonic, but the traveler who takes +them in excess may easily imagine himself enjoying a field-day at +Donnybrook Fair.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg467-1.gif' id='lg467-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>JUMPING CRADLE HOLES.</p></div> + +<p>An hour before reaching Kansk one of our horses fell dead and brought +us to a sudden halt. The yemshick tried various expedients to discover +signs of life but to no purpose. Paul and I formed a board of survey, +and sat upon the beast; the other sleighs passed us during our +consultation, and were very soon out of sight. When satisfied that the +animal, as a horse, was of no further use, the yemshick pulled him to +the roadside, stripped off his harness, and proceeded with our reduced +team. I asked who was responsible for the loss, and was told it was no +affair of ours. The government pays for horses killed in the service +of couriers, as these gentlemen compel very high speed. On a second or +third rate padaroshnian the death of a horse is the loss of its owner. +Horses are not expensive in this region, an ordinary roadster being +worth from fifteen to twenty roubles.</p> + +<p>Within a mile of Kansk the road was bare of snow, and as we had but +two horses to our sleigh I proposed walking into town. We passed a +long train of sleds on their way to market with loads of wood and +hay. Tea was ready for us when we arrived at the station, and we were +equally ready for it. After my fifth cup I walked through the public +square as it was market day, and the people were in the midst of +traffic. Fish, meat, hay, wood, and a great quantity of miscellaneous +articles were offered for sale. In general terms the market was a sort +of pocket edition of the one at Irkutsk. I practiced my knowledge of +Russian in purchasing a quantity of rope to use in case of accidents. +Foreigners were not often seen there if I may judge of the curiosity +with which I was regarded.</p> + +<p>Kansk is a town of about three thousand inhabitants, and stands on the +Kan, a tributary of the Yenesei. We were told there was little snow to +the first station, and were advised to take five horses to each +sleigh. We found the road a combination of thin snow and bare ground, +the latter predominating. We proceeded very well, the yemshicks +maintaining sublime indifference to the character of the track. They +plied their whips vigorously in the probable expectation of +drink-money. The one on my sleigh regaled us with an account of the +perfectly awful condition of the road to Krasnoyarsk.</p> + +<p>About sunset we changed horses, thirty versts from Kansk, and found no +cheering prospect ahead. We drowned our sorrows in the flowing +tea-cup, and fortified ourselves with a large amount of heat. Tea was +the sovereign remedy for all our ills, and we used it most liberally. +We set out with misgivings and promised liberal rewards to the +yemshicks, if they took us well and safely. The road was undeniably +bad, with here and there a redeeming streak of goodness. +Notwithstanding the jolts I slept pretty well during the night. In the +morning we took tea fifty versts from Krasnoyarsk, and learned there +was absolutely no snow for the last thirty versts before reaching the +city. There was fortunately a good snow road to the intervening +village where we must change to wheels. Curiously enough the snow +extended up to the very door of the last station, and utterly +disappeared three feet beyond. Looking one way we saw bare earth, +while in the other direction there was a good road for sleighing.</p> + +<p>At this point we arranged our programme over the inevitable cakes and +tea. The ladies were to leave their vashok until their return to +Irkutsk ten or twelve days later. The remaining sleighs were unladen +and mounted upon wheels. We piled our baggage into telyagas with the +exception of a few articles that remained in the sleighs. The ladies +with their maid took one wagon, while Paul and myself rode in another, +the man servant conveying the sleighs. The whole arrangement was +promptly effected; the villagers scented a job on our arrival, and +were ready for proposals. My sleigh was lifted and fastened into a +wagon about as quickly as a hackman would arrange a trunk. <i>Place aux +dames toujours.</i> We sent away the ladies half an hour in advance of +the rest of the party.</p> + +<p>Our telyaga was a rickety affair, not half so roomy as the sleigh, but +as the ride was short the discomfort was of little consequence. We had +four ill conditioned steeds, but before we had gone twenty rods one of +the brutes persistently faced about and attempted to come inside the +vehicle, though he did not succeed. After vain efforts to set him +right, the yemshick turned him loose, and he bolted homeward +contentedly.</p> + +<p>We climbed and descended a long hill near the village, and then found +a level country quite free from snow, and furnishing a fine road. I +was told that very little snow falls within twenty miles of +Krasnoyarsk, and that it is generally necessary to use wheels there in +the winter months. The reason was not explained to me, but probably +the general configuration of the country is much like that near +Chetah. Krasnoyarsk lies on the Yenesei which has a northerly course +into the Arctic Ocean. The mountains bounding the valley are not +lofty, but sufficiently high to wring the moisture from the snow +clouds. Both above and below Krasnoyarsk, there is but little snow +even in severe seasons.</p> + +<p>Our animals were superbly atrocious, and made good speed only on +descending grades. We were four hours going thirty versts, and for +three-fourths that distance our route was equal to the Bloomingdale +Road. Occasionally we saw farm houses with a dejected appearance as if +the winter had come upon them unawares. From the quantity of ground +enclosed by fences I judged the land was fertile, and well cultivated.</p> + +<p>Toward sunset we saw the domes of Krasnoyarsk rising beyond the frozen +Yenesei. We crossed the river on the ice, and passed near several +women engaged in rinsing clothes.</p> + +<p>A laundress does her washing at the house, but rinses her linen at the +river. In summer this may be well enough, but it seemed to me that the +winter exercise of standing in a keen wind with the thermometer below +zero, and rinsing clothes in a hole cut through the ice was anything +but agreeable. It was a cold day, and I was well wrapped in furs, but +these women were in ordinary clothing, and some had bare legs. They +stood at the edges of circular holes in the ice, and after ‘swashing’ +the linen a short time in the water, wrung it with their purple hands. +How they escaped frost bites I cannot imagine.</p> + +<p>The Yenesei is a magnificent river, one of the largest in Siberia. It +is difficult to estimate with accuracy any distance upon ice, and I +may be far from correct in considering the Yenesei a thousand yards +wide at Krasnoyarsk. The telegraph wires are supported on tall masts +as at the crossing of the Missouri near Kansas City. In summer there +are two steamboats navigating the river from Yeneseisk to the Arctic +Ocean. Rapids and shoals below Krasnoyarsk prevent their ascending to +the latter town. The tributaries of the Yenesei are quite rich in gold +deposits, and support a mining business of considerable extent.</p> + +<p>Krasnoyarsk derives its name from the red hills in its vicinity, and +the color of the soil where it stands. It is on the left bank of the +Yenesei, and has about ten thousand inhabitants. It was nearly night +when we climbed the sloping road in the hillside, and reached the +level of the plateau. The ladies insisted that we should occupy their +house during our stay, and utterly forbade our going to the hotel. +While walking up the hill the captain hailed a washerwoman, and asked +for the residence of Madame Rodstvenny. Her reply was so voluminous, +and so rapidly given that my friend was utterly bewildered, and +comprehended nothing. To his astonishment I told him that I understood +the direction.</p> + +<p>“<i>C’est impossible</i>,” he declared.</p> + +<p>“By no means,” I replied. “The madame lives in a stone house to the +left of the gastinni dvor. The washerwoman said so.”</p> + +<p>Following my advice we found the house. As we entered the courtyard, +the captain begged to know by what possibility I understood in his own +language what he could not.</p> + +<p>I explained that while the woman spoke so glibly I caught the words +“<i>doma, kamen, na leva, gastinni dvor</i>.” I understood only the +essential part of her instruction, and was not confused by the rest.</p> + +<p>I was somewhat reluctant to convert a private house into a hotel as I +expected to remain four or five days. But Siberian hospitality does +not stop at trifles, and my objections were promptly overruled. After +toilet and dinner, Paul and I were parboiled in the bath house of the +establishment. An able-bodied moujik scrubbed me so thoroughly as to +suggest the possibility of removing the cuticle.</p> + +<p>In the morning I went to the bank to change some large bills into +one-rouble notes for use on the road. Horses must be paid for at every +station, and it is therefore desirable to carry the smallest notes +with abundance of silver and copper to make change. The bank was much +like institutions of its class elsewhere, and transacted my business +promptly. The banks in Siberia are branches of the Imperial Bank at +St. Petersburg. They receive deposits, and negotiate exchanges and +remittances just like private banks, but do not undertake risky +business. The officers are servants of the government, and receive +their instructions from the parent bank.</p> + +<p>My finances arranged, I went to the telegraph office to send a message +to a friend. My despatch was written in Russian, and I paid for +message and response. A receipt was given me stating the day, hour, +and minute of filing the despatch, its destination, address, length, +and amount paid. When I received the response I found a statement of +the exact time it was filed for transmission, and also of its +reception at Krasnoyarsk. This is the ordinary routine of the Russian +telegraph system. I commend it to the notice of interested persons in +America.</p> + +<p>There is no free telegraphing on the government lines, every despatch +over the wires being paid for by somebody. If on government business +the sender pays the regular tariff and is reimbursed from the +treasury. I was told that the officers of the telegraph paid for their +own family messages, but had the privilege of conversing on the lines +free of charge. High position does not confer immunity. When the +Czarevitch was married, General Korsackoff sent his congratulations by +telegraph, and received a response from the Emperor. Both messages +were paid for by the sender without reduction or trust.</p> + +<p>I found the general features of Krasnoyarsk much like those of +Irkutsk. Official and civilian inhabitants dressed, lived, walked, +breathed, drank, and gambled like their kindred nearer the east. It +happened to be market day, and the public square was densely crowded. +I was interested in observing the character and abundance of the fish +offered for sale. Among those with a familiar appearance were the +sturgeon, perch, and pike, and a small fish resembling our alewife. +There was a fish unknown to me, with a long snout like a duck’s bill, +and a body on the extreme clipper model. All these fish are from the +Yenesei, some dwelling there permanently while others ascend annually +from the Arctic Ocean. All in the market were frozen solid, and the +larger ones were piled up like cord-wood.</p> + +<p>From the bank overlooking the river there is a fine view of the valley +of the Yenesei. There are several islands in the vicinity, and I was +told that in the season of floods the stream has a very swift current. +It is no easy work to ferry across it, and the boats generally descend +a mile or two while paddling over. A few years ago a resident of +Krasnoyarsk made a remarkable voyage on this river. He had been +attending a wedding several miles away on the other bank, and started +to return late at night so as to reach the ferry about daybreak. His +equipage was a wooden telyaga drawn by two powerful horses. Having +partaken of the cup that inebriates, the man fell asleep and allowed +his horses to take their own course. Knowing the way perfectly they +came without accident to the ferry landing, their owner still wrapped +in his drunken slumber.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg473-1.gif' id='lg473-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>VALLEY OF THE YENESEI.</p></div> + +<p>The boat was on the other side, and the horses, no doubt hungry and +impatient, plunged in to swim across. The telyaga filled with water, +but had sufficient buoyancy not to sink. The cold bath waked and +sobered the involuntary voyager when about half way over the river. He +had the good sense, aided by fright, to remain perfectly still, and +was landed in safety. Those who saw him coming in the early dawn were +struck with astonishment, and one, at least, imagined that he beheld +Neptune in his marine chariot breasting the waters of the Yenesei. My +informant vouched for the correctness of the story, and gave it as an +illustration of the courage and endurance of Siberian horses. +According to the statement of the condition of the river, the beasts +could have as easily crossed the Mississippi at Memphis in an ordinary +stage of water.</p> + +<p>Wolves are abundant in the valley of the Yenesei, though they are not +generally dangerous to men. An officer whom I met there told me they +were less troublesome than in Poland, and he related his experience +with them in the latter country while on a visit to the family of a +young lady to whom he was betrothed. I give his story as nearly as +possible in his own words.</p> + +<p>“One day my friend Rasloff proposed a wolf hunt. We selected the best +horses from his stable; fine, quick, surefooted beasts, with a driver +who was unsurpassed in all that region for his skill and dash. The +sleigh was a large one, and we fitted it with a good supply of robes +and straw, and put a healthy young pig in it to serve as a decoy. We +each had a gun, and carried a couple of spare guns, with plenty of +ammunition, so that we could kill as many wolves as presented +themselves.</p> + +<p>“Just as we were preparing to start, Christina asked to accompany us. +I suggested the coldness of the night, and Rasloff hinted that the +sleigh was too small for three. But Christina protested that the air, +though sharp, was clear and still, and she could wrap herself warmly; +a ride of a few hours would do her more good than harm. The sleigh, +she insisted, was a large one, and afforded ample room. ‘Besides,’ she +added, ‘I will sit directly behind the driver, and out of your way, +and I want to see a wolf-hunt very much indeed.’</p> + +<p>“So we consented. Christina arrayed herself in a few moments, and we +started on our excursion.</p> + +<p>“The servants were instructed to hang out a light in front of the +entrance to the courtyard. It was about sunset when we left the +chateau and drove out upon the plain, covered here and there with +patches of forest. The road we followed was well trodden by the many +peasants on their way to the fair at the town, twenty-five miles away. +We traveled slowly, not wishing to tire our horses, and, as we left +the half dozen villages that clustered around the chateau, we had the +road entirely to ourselves. The moon rose soon after sunset, and as it +was at the full, it lighted up the plain very clearly, and seemed to +stand out quite distinct from the deep blue sky and the bright stars +that sparkled everywhere above the horizon. We chatted gayly as we +rode along. The time passed so rapidly that I was half surprised, when +Rasloff told me to get ready to hunt wolves.</p> + +<p>“The pig had been lying very comfortably in the bottom, of the sleigh, +and protested quite loudly as we brought him out. The rope had been +made ready before we started from home, and so the most we had to do +was to turn the horses around, get our guns ready, and throw the pig +upon the ground. He set up a piercing shriek as the rope dragged him +along, and completely drowned our voices. Paul had hard work to keep +the horses from breaking into a run, but he succeeded, and we +maintained a very slow trot. Christina nestled in the place she had +agreed to occupy, and Rasloff and I prepared to shoot the wolves.</p> + +<p>“We drove thus for fifteen or twenty minutes. The pig gradually became +exhausted, and reduced his scream to a sort of moan that was very +painful to hear. I began to think we should see no wolves, and return +to the chateau without firing our guns, when suddenly a howl came +faintly along the air, and in a moment, another and another.</p> + +<p>“‘There,’ said Rasloff; ‘there comes our game, and we shall have work +enough before long.’</p> + +<p>“A few moments later I saw a half dozen dusky forms emerging from the +forest to the right and behind us. They seemed like moving spots on +the snow, and had it not been for their howling I should have failed +to notice them as early as I did. They grew more and more numerous, +and, as they gathered behind us, formed a waving line across the road +that gradually took the shape of a crescent, with the horns pointing +toward our right and left. At first they were timid, and kept a +hundred yards or more behind us, but as the hog renewed his scream, +they took courage, and approached nearer.</p> + +<p>“By the time they were within fifty yards there were two or three +hundred of them—possibly half a thousand. I could see every moment +that their numbers were increasing, and it was somewhat impatiently +that I waited Rasloff’s signal to fire. At last he told me to begin, +and I fired at the center of the pack. The wolf I struck gave a howl +of pain, and his companions, roused by the smell of blood, fell upon +and tore him to pieces in a moment. Rasloff fired an instant after me, +and then we kept up our firing as fast as possible. As the wolves +fell, the others sprung upon them, but the pack was so large that they +were not materially detained by stopping to eat up their brethren. +They continued the pursuit, and what alarmed me, they came nearer, and +showed very little fear of our guns.</p> + +<p>“We had taken a large quantity of ammunition—more by half than we +thought would possibly be needed—but its quantity diminished so +rapidly as to suggest the probability of exhaustion. The pack steadily +came nearer. We cut away the pig, but it stopped the pursuit only for +a moment. Directly behind us the wolves were not ten yards away; on +each side they were no further from the horses, who were snorting with +fear, and requiring all the efforts of the driver to hold them. We +shot down the beasts as fast as possible, and as I saw our danger I +whispered my thoughts to Rasloff.</p> + +<p>“He replied to me in Spanish, which Christina did not understand, that +the situation was really dangerous, and we must prepare to get out of +it. I would stay longer,’ he suggested, ‘though there is a good deal +of risk in it; but we must think of the girl, and not let her suspect +anything wrong, and, above all, must not risk her safety.’</p> + +<p>“Turning to the driver, he said, in a cheery tone:</p> + +<p>“‘Paul, we have shot till we are tired out. You may let the horses go, +but keep them well in control.’ </p> + +<p>“While he spoke a huge wolf sprang from the pack and dashed toward +one of the horses. Another followed him, and in twenty seconds the +line was broken and they were upon us. One wolf jumped at the rear of +the sleigh and caught his paws upon it. Rasloff struck him with the +butt of his gun, and at the same instant he delivered the blow, Paul +let the horses have their way. Rasloff fell upon the edge of the +vehicle and over its side. Luckily, his foot caught in one of the +robes and held him for an instant—long enough to enable me to seize +and draw him back. It was the work of a moment, but what a moment!</p> + +<p>“Christina had remained silent, suspecting, but not fully +comprehending our danger. As her brother fell she screamed and dropped +senseless to the bottom of the sleigh. I confess that I exerted all my +strength in that effort to save the brother of my affianced, and as I +accomplished it, I sank powerless, though still conscious, at the side +of the girl I loved. Rasloff’s right arm was dislocated by the fall, +and one of the pursuing wolves had struck his teeth into his scalp as +he was dragging over the side, and torn it so that it bled profusely. +How narrow had been his escape!</p> + +<p>“‘Faster, faster, Paul!’ he shouted; ‘drive for your life and for +ours.’</p> + +<p>“Paul gave the horses free rein, and they needed no urging. They +dashed along the road as horses rarely ever dashed before. In a few +minutes I gained strength enough to raise my head, and saw, to my +unspeakable delight, that the distance between us and the pack was +increasing. We were safe if no accident occurred and the horses could +maintain their pace.</p> + +<p>“One horse fell, but, as if knowing his danger, made a tremendous +effort and gained his feet. By-and-by we saw the light at the chateau, +and in a moment dashed into the courtyard, and were safe.”</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg478-1.gif' id='xlg478-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A WOLF HUNT.</p></div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XL'></a><h2>CHAPTER XL.</h2></div> + + +<p>I found at Krasnoyarsk more beggars than in Irkutsk, in proportion to +the population. Like beggars in all parts of the empire, they made the +sign of the cross on receiving donations. A few were young, but the +great majority were old, tattered, and decrepid, who shivered in the +frosty air, and turned purple visages upon their benefactors. The +peasantry in Russia are liberal to the poor, and in many localities +they have abundant opportunities to practice charity.</p> + +<p>With its abundance of beggars Krasnoyarsk can also boast a great many +wealthy citizens. The day before my departure one of these Siberian +Croesuses died, and another was expected to follow his example before +long. A church near the market place was built at the sole expense of +this deceased individual. Its cost exceeded seven hundred thousand +roubles, and its interior was said to be finely decorated. Among the +middle classes in Siberia the erection of churches is, or has been, +the fashionable mode of public benefaction. The endowment of schools, +libraries, and scientific associations has commenced, but is not yet +fully popular.</p> + +<p>The wealth of Krasnoyarsk is chiefly derived from gold digging. The +city may be considered the center of mining enterprises in the +government of Yeneseisk. Two or three thousand laborers in the gold +mines spend the winter at Krasnoyarsk, and add to the volume of local +commerce. The town of Yeneseisk, three hundred versts further north, +hibernates an equal number, and many hundreds are scattered through +the villages in the vicinity. The mining season begins in May and ends +in September. In March and April the clerks and superintendents +engage their laborers, paying a part of their wages in advance. The +wages are not high, and only those in straitened circumstances, the +dissolute, and profligate, who have no homes of their own, are +inclined to let themselves to labor in gold mines.</p> + +<p>Many works are extensive, and employ a thousand or more laborers each. +The government grants mining privileges to individuals on certain +conditions. The land granted must be worked at least one year out of +every three, else the title reverts to the government, and can be +allotted again. The grantee must be either a hereditary nobleman or +pay the tax of a merchant of the second guild, or he should be able to +command the necessary capital for the enterprise he undertakes. His +title holds good until his claim is worked out or abandoned, and no +one can disturb him on any pretext. He receives a patent for a strip +of land seven versts long and a hundred fathoms wide, on the banks of +a stream suitable for mining purposes. The claim extends on both sides +of the stream, and includes its bed, so that the water may be utilized +at the will of the miner.</p> + +<p>Sometimes the grantee desires a width of more than a hundred fathoms, +but in such case the length of his claim is shortened in proportion.</p> + +<p>It requires a large capital to open a claim after the grant is +obtained. The location is often far from any city or large town, where +supplies are purchased. Transportation is a heavy item, as the roads +are difficult to travel. Sometimes a hundred thousand roubles will be +expended in supplies, transportation, buildings, and machinery, before +the work begins. Then men must be hired, taken to the mines, clothed, +and furnished with, proper quarters. The proprietor must have at hand +a sufficient amount of provisions, medical stores, clothing, and +miscellaneous goods to supply his men during the summer. Everything +desired by the laborer is sold to him at a lower price than he could +buy elsewhere, at least such is the theory. I was told that the mining +proprietors make no profits from their workmen, but simply add the +cost of transportation to the wholesale price of the merchandise. The +men are allowed to anticipate their wages by purchase, and it often +happens that there is very little due them at the end of the season.</p> + +<p>Government regulations and the interest of proprietors require that +the laborers should be well fed and housed and tended during sickness. +Every mining establishment maintains a physician either on its own +account or jointly with a neighbor. The national dish of Russia, +<i>schee</i>, is served daily, with at least a pound of beef. Sometimes the +treatment of the men lapses into negligence toward the close of the +season, especially if the enterprise is unfortunate; but this is not +the case in the early months. The mining proprietors understand the +importance of keeping their laborers in good health, and to secure +this end there is nothing better than proper food and lodging. Vodki +is dealt out in quantities sufficiently small to prevent intoxication, +except on certain feast-days, when all can get drunk to their liking. +No drinking shops can be kept on the premises until the season’s work +is over and the men are preparing to depart.</p> + +<p>Every laborer is paid for extra work, and if industrious and prudent +his wages will equal thirty-five or forty roubles a month beside his +board. While in debt he is required by law to work every day, not even +resting on Saints’ days or Sundays. The working season lasting only +about four months, early and late hours are a necessity. When the +year’s operations are ended the most of the men find their way to the +larger towns, where they generally waste their substance in riotous +living till the return of spring. As in mining communities everywhere, +the prudent and economical are a minority.</p> + +<p>The mines in the government of Yeneseisk are generally on the +tributaries of the Yenesei river. The valley of the Pit is rich in +gold deposits, and has yielded large fortunes to lucky operators +during the past twenty years. Usually the pay-dirt begins twenty or +thirty feet below the surface, and I heard of a mine that yielded +handsome profits though the gold-bearing earth was under seventy feet +of soil. Prospecting is conducted with great care, and no mining +enterprise is commenced without a thorough survey of the region to be +developed. Wells or pits are dug at regular intervals, the exact depth +and the character of the upper earth being noted. This often involves +a large expenditure of money and labor, and many fortunes have been +wasted, by parties whose lucky star was not in the ascendant, in their +persistent yet unsuccessful search for paying mines.</p> + +<p>Solid rock is sometimes struck sooner or later after commencing work, +which renders the expense of digging vastly greater. In such cases, +unless great certainty exists of striking a rich vein of gold beneath, +the labor is suspended, the spot vacated, and another selected with +perhaps like results.</p> + +<p>Occasionally some sanguine operator will push his well down through +fifty feet of solid rock at a great outlay, and with vast labor, to +find himself possessed of the means for a large fortune, while another +will find himself ruined by his failure to strike the expected gold.</p> + +<p>When the pay-dirt is reached, its depth and the number of zolotniks of +gold in every pood taken out are ascertained. With the results before +him a practical miner can readily decide whether a place will pay for +working. Of course he must take many contingent facts into +consideration, such as the extent of the placer, the resources of the +region, the roads or the expense of making them, provisions, lumber, +transportation, horses, tools, men, and so on through a long list.</p> + +<p>The earth over the pay-dirt is broken up and carted off; its great +depth causes immense wear of horseflesh. A small mine employs three or +four hundred workmen, and larger ones in proportion. I heard of one +that kept more than three thousand men at work. The usual estimate for +horses is one to every two men, but the proportion varies according to +the character of the mine.</p> + +<p>The pay-dirt is hauled to the bank of the river, where it is washed in +machines turned by water power. Various machines have been devised for +gold-washing, and the Russians are anxious to find the best invention +of the kind. The one in most general use and the easiest to construct +is a long cylinder of sheet iron open at both ends and perforated with +many small holes. This revolves in a slightly inclined position, and +receives the dirt and a stream of water at the upper end. The stones +pass through the cylinder and fall from the opposite end, where they +are examined to prevent the loss of ‘nuggets.’ Fine dirt, sand, gold, +and water pass through the perforations, and are caught in suitable +troughs, where the lighter substance washes away and leaves the black +sand and gold.</p> + +<p>Great care is exercised to prevent thefts, but it does not always +succeed. The laborers manage to purloin small quantities, which they +sell to contraband dealers in the larger towns. The government forbids +private traffic in gold dust, and punishes offences with severity; but +the profits are large and tempting. Every gold miner must send the +product of his diggings to the government establishment at Barnaool, +where it is smelted and assayed. The owner receives its money value, +minus the Imperial tax of fifteen per cent.</p> + +<p>The whole valley of the Yenesei, as far as explored, is auriferous. +Were it not for the extreme rigor of its climate and the disadvantages +of location, it would become immensely productive. Some mines have +been worked at a profit where the earth is solidly frozen and must be +thawed by artificial means. One way of accomplishing this is by piling +wood to a height of three or four feet and then setting it on fire. +The earth thawed by the heat is scraped off, and fresh fires are made. +Sometimes the frozen earth is dug up and soaked in water. Either +process is costly, and the yield of gold must be great to repay the +outlay. A gentleman in Irkutsk told me he had a gold mine of this +frozen character, and intimated that he found it profitable. The +richest gold mines thus far worked in Siberia are in the government of +Yeneseisk, but it is thought that some of the newly opened placers in +the Trans-Baikal province and along the Amoor will rival them in +productiveness.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg484-1.gif' id='xlg484-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>HYDRAULIC MINING.</p></div> + +<p>In Irkutsk I met a Russian who had spent some months in California, +and proposed introducing hydraulic mining to the Siberians. No quartz +mines have been worked in Eastern Siberia, but several rich leads are +known to exist, and I presume a thorough exploration would reveal many +more. I saw excellent specimens of gold-bearing quartz from the +governments of Irkutsk and Yeneseisk. One specimen in particular, if +in the hands of certain New York operators, would be sufficient basis +for a company with a capital of half a million. In the Altai and Ural +mountains quartz mills have been in use for many years.</p> + +<p>The Siberian gold deposits were made available long before Russia +explored and conquered Northern Asia. There are many evidences in the +Ural mountains of extensive mining operations hundreds of years ago. +Large areas have been dug over by a people of whom the present +inhabitants can give no account. It is generally supposed that the +Tartars discovered and opened these gold mines shortly after the time +of Genghis Khan.</p> + +<p>The native population of the valley of the Yenesei comprises several +distinct tribes, belonging in common to the great Mongolian race. In +the extreme north, in the region bordering the Arctic Ocean, are the +Samoyedes, who are of the same blood as the Turks. The valley of the +Lena is peopled by Yakuts, whose development far exceeds that of the +Samoyedes, though both are of common origin. The latter are devoted +entirely to the chase and the rearing of reindeer, and show no +fondness for steady labor. The Yakuts employ the horse as a beast of +burden, and are industrious, ingenious, and patient. As much as the +character of the country permits they till the soil, and are not +inclined to nomadic life. They are hardy and reliable laborers, and +live on the most amicable terms with the Russians.</p> + +<p>Before the opening of the Amoor the carrying trade from Yakutsk to +Ohotsk was in their hands. As many as forty thousand horses used to +pass annually between the two points, nearly all of them owned and +driven by Yakuts.</p> + +<p>Most of these natives have been converted to Christianity, but they +still adhere to some of their ancient practices. On the road, for +example, they pluck hairs from their horse’s tails and hang them upon +trees to appease evil spirits. Some of the Russians have imbibed +native superstitions, and there is a story of a priest who applied to +a shaman to practice his arts and ward off evil in a journey he was +about to make. Examples to the natives are not always of the best, and +it would not be surprising if they raised doubts as to the +superiority of Christian faith. A traveler who had a mixed party of +Cossacks and natives, relates that the former were accustomed to say +their prayers three or four times on evenings when they had plenty of +leisure and omit them altogether when they were fatigued. At Nijne +Kolymsk Captain Wrangell found the priests holding service three times +on one Sunday and then absenting themselves for two weeks.</p> + +<p>South of Krasnoyarsk are the natives belonging to the somewhat +indefinite family known as Tartars. They came originally from Central +Asia, and preserve many Mongol habits added to some created by present +circumstances. Some of them dwell in houses, while others adhere to +yourts of the same form and material as those of the Bouriats and +Mongols. They are agriculturists in a small way, but only adopt +tilling the soil as a last resort. Their wealth consists in sheep, +cattle, and horses, and when one of them has large possessions he +changes his habitation two or three times a year, on account of +pasturage. A gentleman told me that he once found a Tartar, whose +flocks and herds were worth more than a million roubles, living in a +tent of ordinary dimensions and with very little of what a European +would call comfort. These natives harmonize perfectly with the +Russians, of whom they have a respectful fear.</p> + +<p>Like their kindred in Central Asia, these Tartars are excellent +horsemen, and show themselves literally at home in the saddle. +Dismounted, they step clumsily, and are unable to walk any distance of +importance. On horseback they have an easy and graceful carriage, and +are capable of great endurance. They show intense love for their +horses, caressing them constantly and treating their favorite riding +animals as household pets. In all their songs and traditions the horse +occupies a prominent place.</p> + +<p>One of the most popular Tartar songs, said to be of great antiquity, +relates the adventures of “Swan’s Wing,” a beautiful daughter of a +native chief. Her brother had been overpowered by a magician and +carried to the spirit laird. According to the tradition the horse he +rode came to Swan’s Wing and told her what had occurred. The young +girl begged him to lead her by the road the magician had taken, and +thus guided, she reached the country of the shades. Assisted by the +horse she was able to rescue her brother from the prison where he was +confined. On her return she narrated to her people the incidents of +her journey, which are chanted at the present time. The song tells how +one of the supernatural guardians was attracted by her beauty and +became her <i>valet de place</i> during her visit.</p> + +<p>Near the entrance of the grounds she saw a fat horse in a sandy field, +and a lean one in a meadow. A thin and apparently powerless man was +wading against a torrent, while a large and muscular one could not +stop a small brook.</p> + +<p>“The first horse,” said her guide, “shows that a careful master can +keep his herds in good condition with scanty pasturage, and the second +shows how easily one may fail to prosper in the midst of plenty. The +man stemming the torrent shows how much one can accomplish by the +force of will, even though the body be weak. The strong man is +overpowered by the little stream, because he lacks intelligence and +resolution.”</p> + +<p>She was next led through several apartments of a large building. In +the first apartment several women were spinning incessantly, while +others attempted to swallow balls of hemp. Next she saw women holding +heavy stones in their hands and unable to put them down. Then there +were parties playing without cessation upon musical instruments, and +others busy over games of chance. In one room were men and dogs +enraged and biting each other. In a dormitory were many couples with +quilts of large dimensions, but in each couple there was an active +struggle, and its quilt was frequently pulled aside. In the last hall +of the establishment there were smiling couples, at peace with all the +world and ‘the rest of mankind.’ The song closes with the guide’s +explanation of what Swan’s Wing had seen.</p> + +<p>“The women who spin now are punished because in their lives they +continued to spin after sunset, when they should be at rest.</p> + +<p>“Those who swallow balls of hemp were guilty of stealing thread by +making their cloth too thin.</p> + +<p>“Those condemned to hold heavy stones were guilty of putting stones in +their butter to make it heavy.</p> + +<p>“The parties who make music and gamble did nothing else in their life +time, and must continue that employment perpetually.</p> + +<p>“The men with the dogs are suffering the penalty of having created +quarrels on earth.</p> + +<p>“The couples who freeze under ample covering are punished for their +selfishness when mortals, and the couples in the next apartment are an +example to teach the certainty of happiness to those who develop +kindly disposition.”</p> + +<p>The region of the Lower Yenesei contains many exiles whom the +government desired to remove far from the centers of population. These +include political and criminal prisoners, whose offences are of a high +grade, together with the members of a certain religious order, known +as “The Skoptsi.” The latter class is particularly obnoxious on +account of its practice of mutilation. Whenever an adherent of this +sect is discovered he is banished to the remotest regions, either in +the north of Siberia or among the mountains of Circassia. It is the +only religious body relentlessly persecuted by the Russian government, +and the persecution is based upon the sparseness of population. Some +of these men have been incorporated into regiments on the frontier, +where they prove obedient and tractable. Those who become colonists in +Siberia are praised for their industry and perseverance, and +invariably win the esteem of their neighbors. They are banished to +distant localities through fear of their influence upon those around +them. Most of the money-changers of Moscow are reputed to believe in +this peculiar faith.</p> + +<p>Many prominent individuals were exiled to the Lower Yenesei and +regions farther eastward, under former sovereigns. Count Golofkin, one +of the ministers of Catherine II., was banished to Nijne Kolymsk, +where he died. It is said that he used to put himself, his servants, +and house in deep mourning on every anniversary of Catherine’s +birthday. Two officers of the court of the emperor Paul were exiled to +a small town on the Yenesei, where they lived until recalled by +Alexander I.</p> + +<p>The settlers on the Angara are freed from liability to conscription, +on condition that they furnish rowers and pilots to boats navigating +that stream. The settlers on the Lena enjoy the same privilege under +similar terms. On account of the character of the country and the +drawbacks to prosperity, the taxes are much lighter than in more +favored regions. In the more northern districts there is a +considerable trade in furs and ivory. The latter comes in the shape of +walrus tusks, and the tusks and teeth of the mammoth, which are +gathered on the shores of the Arctic Ocean and the islands scattered +through it. This trade is less extensive than it was forty or fifty +years ago.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_489'></a> +<img src="images/sm489-1.gif" id='sm489-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLI.</h2></div> + + +<p>I spent three days in Krasnoyarsk, chiefly employed upon my letters +and journal. My recent companions were going no farther in my +direction, and knowing this beforehand, I arranged with a gentleman at +Irkutsk to travel with him from Krasnoyarsk. He arrived two days +behind me, and after sending away a portion of his heavy baggage, was +ready to depart. There was no snow to the first station, and so we +sent our sleighs on wheels and used the post carriages over the bare +ground. A peasant who lived near the station sought me out and offered +to transport my sleigh for three roubles and a little drink-money. As +I demurred, he proposed to repair, without extra charge, one of my +fenders which had come to grief, and we made a bargain on this +proposition.</p> + +<p>My companion, Dr. Schmidt, had recently returned from a +mammoth-hunting expedition within the Arctic circle. He had not +secured a perfect specimen of this extinct beast, but contented +himself with some parts of the stupendous whole, and a miscellaneous +collection of birds, bugs, and reptiles. He despatched a portion of +his treasures by post; the balance, with his assistant, formed a +sufficient load for one sleigh. The doctor was to ride in my sleigh, +while his assistant in another vehicle kept company with the relicts. +The kegs, boxes, and bundles of Arctic zoology did not form a +comfortable couch, and I never envied their conductor.</p> + +<p>On the day fixed for our departure we sent our papers to the station +in the forenoon, and were told we could be supplied at sunset or a +little later. This was not to our liking, as we desired to reach the +first station before nightfall. A friend suggested an appeal to the +Master of the post, and together we proceeded to that functionary’s +office. An amiable, quiet man he was, and listened to our complaint +with perfect composure. After hearing it he summoned the smotretal +with his book of records, and an animated discussion followed. I +expected to see somebody grow indignant, but the whole affair abounded +in good nature.</p> + +<p>The conversation was conducted with the decorum of a school dialogue +on exhibition day. In half an hour by the clock I was told I could +have a troika at once, in consideration of my special passport. “Wait +a little,” whispered my friend in French, “and we will have the other +troika for Schmidt.”</p> + +<p>So I waited, kicking my heels about the room, studying the posters on +the walls, eyeing a bad portrait of the emperor, and a worse one of +the empress, and now and then drawing near the scene of action. The +clerks looked at me in furtive glances. At every pronunciation of my +name, coupled with the word “Amerikansky,” there was a general stare +all around. I am confident those attachés of the post office at +Krasnoyarsk had a perfect knowledge of my features.</p> + +<p>In exactly another half hour our point and the horses were gained. +When we entered the office it was positively declared there were no +horses to be had, and it was a little odd that two troikas and six +horses, could be produced out of nothing, and each of them at the end +of a long talk. I asked an explanation of the mystery, but was told it +was a Russian peculiarity that no American could understand.</p> + +<p>The horses came very promptly, one troika to Schmidt’s lodgings and +the other to mine. The servants packed my baggage into the little +telyaga that was to carry me to the first station. Joining Schmidt +with the other team, we rattled out of town on an excellent road, and +left the red hills of Krasnoyarsk. The last object I saw denoting the +location of the town was a church or chapel on a high cliff +overlooking the Yenesei valley. The road lay over an undulating +region, where there were few streams and very little timber. The snow +lay in little patches here and there on the swells least exposed to +the sun, but it did not cover a twentieth part of the ground. In +several hollows the mud had frozen and presented a rough surface to +our wheels. Our telyaga had no springs, and when we went at a rapid +trot over the worst places the bones of my spinal column seemed +engaged in a struggle for independence. A thousand miles of such +riding would have been too much for me. A dog belonging to Madame +Radstvenny’s house-keeper followed me from Krasnoyarsk, but did not +show himself till we were six or eight versts away. Etiquette, to say +nothing of morality, does not sanction stealing the dog of your host, +and so I arranged for the brute’s return. In consideration of fifty +copecks the yemshick agreed to take the dog on his homeward trip and +deliver him in good order and condition at Krasnoyarsk.</p> + +<p>Just before reaching the first station we passed through a village +nearly four miles long, but only a single street in width. The station +was at the extreme end of the village; our sleighs were waiting for +us, and so were the men who brought them from Krasnoyarsk. There was +no snow for the next twenty versts, and consequently the sleighs +needed further transportation. Schmidt’s sleigh was dragged empty over +the bare ground, but mine, being heavier, was mounted upon wheels.</p> + +<p>Other difficulties awaited us. There was but one troika to spare and +only one telyaga. We required two vehicles for ourselves and baggage, +but the smotretal could not accommodate us. We ordered the samovar, +and debated over our tea. I urged my friend to try the effect of my +special passport, which had always been successful in Paul’s hands. He +did so after our tea-drinking, but the document was powerless, the +smotretal doubtless arguing that if the paper were of consequence we +should have shown it on our arrival. We sent it to the <i>starost</i>, or +head man of the village, but that worthy declined to honor it, and we +were left to shift for ourselves. Evidently the power of the Governor +General’s passport was on the wane.</p> + +<p>The document was a request, not an order, and therefore had no real +force. Paul always displayed it as if it were an Imperial ukase. His +manner of spreading the double page and exhibiting seal and signature +carried authority and produced horses. The amiable naturalist had none +of the quality called ‘cheek,’ and the adoption of an authoritative +air did not accord with his character. He subsequently presented the +passport as if he thought it all-powerful, and on such occasions it +generally proved so. A man who wishes to pass a doorkeeper at a +caucus, enter a ladies’ car on a railway, or obtain a reserved seat in +a court room, is much more certain of success if he advances with a +confident air than if he hesitates and appears fearful of ejection. +Humanity is the same the world over, and there is more than a shadow +of truth in the saying that society values a man pretty much as he +appears to value himself. I can testify that the smotretals in Siberia +generally regarded our papers according to our manner of showing them.</p> + +<p>We took tea a second time, parlayed with the yemshicks and their +friends, and closed by chartering a team at double the regular rates. +Just before reaching the snow we passed the sleighs, and halted for +them to come up. My sleigh was very soon ready, and we rejoiced at our +transfer of baggage. During the change a bottle of cognac disappeared +mysteriously, and I presume we shall never see it again. The other and +more cumbersome articles preserved their numbers faithfully. Our party +halting in the moonlight and busy about the vehicles, presented a +curiously picturesque appearance. Schmidt was in his Arctic costume, +while I wore my winter dress, minus the dehar. The yemshicks were +wrapped in their inevitable sheepskins, and bustled about with +unwavering good humor.</p> + +<p>In the sleigh we were at home, and had a roof to cover us; we made +very good speed to the station, where we found no horses. The floor of +the travelers’ room was covered with dormant figures, and after +bumping my head over the doorway, I waded in a pond of bodies, heads, +and legs. The moon was the only light, and its beams were not +sufficient to prevent my stepping on several sleepers, and extracting +Russian oaths for my carelessness.</p> + +<p>“Now for it,” I whispered to the good-natured doctor, as we waked the +smotretal. “Make him think our papers are important.”</p> + +<p>The official rubbed his eyes over the passport, and then hastened to +arouse the starost. The latter ordered horses from the village without +delay.</p> + +<p>It had been a fete-day in honor of the Emperor, and most of the +villagers were drunk, so that it required some time to assemble the +requisite yemshicks and horses. A group of men and women from an +evening party passed the station, and amused us with native songs. An +inebriated moujik, riding on a small sled, turned from the road to +enter the station yard. One side of the sled passed over a log, and as +the man had not secured his balance, he rolled out of sight in a snow +drift. I watched him as he emerged, much as Neptune might appear from +the crest of a foamy wave.</p> + +<p>The Siberians keep all the Imperial fete-days with scrupulous +exactness, and their loyalty to the emperor is much akin to religious +awe. The whole Imperial family is the object of great respect, and +whatever is commanded in the name of the emperor meets the most +cheerful acquiescence. One finds the portrait of Alexander in almost +every house, and I never heard the name of that excellent ruler +mentioned disrespectfully. If His Majesty would request that his +subjects abstain from vodki drinking on Imperial fete-days, he would +do much toward their prosperity. It would be an easy beginning in the +cause of temperance, as no one could consider it out of place for the +emperor to prescribe the manner of celebrating his own festivals. The +work once begun in this way, would be likely to lead to good results. +Drunkenness is the great vice of the Russian peasant, and will never +be suppressed without the active endeavors of the government.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg495-1.gif' id='xlg495-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>DOWN HILL.</p></div> + +<p>When we started from the station we ran against the gate post, and +were nearly overturned in consequence. My head came against the side +of the sleigh with a heavy thump that affected me more than it did the +vehicle. We descended a long hill at a full run, and as our yemshick +was far from sober I had a lively expectation of a general smash at +the bottom.</p> + +<p>About half way down the descent we met a sleigh and dashed our fenders +against it. The strong poles rubbed across each other like fencing +foils, and withstood the shock finely.</p> + +<p>At sunset there were indications of a snow storm, in the gradual +ascent of the thermometer. An hour past midnight the temperature was +above freezing point, and the sleigh runners lost that peculiar +ringing sound that indicates cold weather. I threw off my furs and +endeavored to sleep, but accomplished little in that direction. My +clothing was too thick or too thin. Without my furs I shivered, and +with them I perspired. My sleigh robe was too much for comfort, and +the absence of it left something to be desired. Warm weather is a +great inconvenience in a Siberian winter journey. The best temperature +for travel is from five to fifteen degrees below the freezing point.</p> + +<p>The road was abominable, though it might have been worse. It was full +of drifts, bare spots, and <i>oukhabas</i>, and our motion was as varied as +a politician’s career. Sometimes it was up, then down, then sidewise, +and then all ways at once. We pitched and rolled like a canoe +descending the Lachine rapids, or a whale-boat towed by a +hundred-barrel “bow-head.” In many places the snow was blown from the +regular road, and the winter track wound through fields and forests +wherever snow could be found. There was an abundance of rocks, stumps, +and other inequalities to relieve the monotony of this mode of travel. +We went much out of our way to find snow, and I think we sometimes +increased, by a third or a half, the distance between stations. The +road was both horizontally and vertically tortuous.</p> + +<p>My companion took every occurrence with the utmost coolness, and +taught me some things in patience I had not known before. He was long +accustomed to Siberian travel, having made several scientific journeys +through Northern Asia. In 1859 the Russian Geographical Society sent +him to visit the Amoor valley and explore the island of Sakhalin. His +journey thither was accomplished in winter, and when he returned he +brought many valuable data touching the geology and the vegetable and +animal life of the island. He told me he spoke the American language, +having learned it among my countrymen at Nicolayevsk, but had never +studied English. His journey to the Arctic Circle was made on behalf +of the Russian Academy of Science, of which he was an active member.</p> + +<p>In 1865 the captain of a Yenesei steamer learned that some natives had +discovered the perfectly preserved remains of a mammoth in latitude +67°, about a hundred versts west of the river. He announced the fact +to a <i>savant</i>, who sent the intelligence to St. Petersburg. Scientific +men deemed the discovery so important that they immediately +commissioned Dr. Schmidt to follow it up. The doctor went to Eastern +Siberia in February, and in the following month proceeded down the +Yenesei to Turuhansk, where he remained four or five weeks waiting for +the season of warmth and light. He was accompanied by Mr. Lopatin, a +Russian geologist, and a staff of three or four assistants. They +carried a photographic apparatus, and one of the sensations of their +voyage was to take photographs at midnight in the light of a blazing +sun.</p> + +<p>When the Yenesei was free of ice the explorers, in a barge, descended +from Turuhansk to the landing place nearest the mammoth deposit. +Several Cossacks accompanied the party from Turuhansk, and assisted in +its intercourse with the natives. The latter were peacefully inclined, +and gladly served the men who came so recently from the emperor’s +dwelling place. They brought their reindeer and sledges, and guided +the explorers to the object of their search. The country in the Arctic +Circle has very little vegetation, and the drift wood that descends +the Yenesei is an important item to the few natives along the river. +The trees growing north of latitude 66° are very small, and as one +nears the coast of the Frozen Ocean they disappear altogether. The +principal features of the country are the wide <i>tundras</i>, or +moss-covered plains, similar to those of North Eastern Siberia.</p> + +<p>The scattered aboriginals are Tunguse and Samoyedes. Their chief +employment is the chase in winter, fishing in summer, and the care of +their reindeer at all seasons. Reindeer form their principal wealth, +and are emphatically the circulating medium of the country. Dr. +Schmidt told me he rode in a reindeer sledge from the river to within +a short distance of the mammoth. It was the month of June, but the +snow had not disappeared and nothing could be accomplished. A second +visit several weeks later was more successful. In the interval the +party embarked on the steamer which makes one or two journeys every +summer to the Arctic Ocean in search of fish, furs, and ivory. A +vigorous traffic is maintained during the short period that the river +remains open.</p> + +<p>On the return from the Arctic Ocean, the season was more favorable to +mammoth-hunting. Unfortunately the remains were not perfect. The +skeleton was a good deal broken and scattered, and some parts were +altogether lacking. The chief object of the enterprise was to obtain +the stomach of the mammoth so that its contents could be analyzed. It +is known that the beast lived upon vegetable food, but no one has yet +ascertained its exact character. Some contend that the mammoth was a +native of the tropics, and his presence in the north is due to the +action of an earthquake. Others think he dwelt in the Arctic regions, +and never belonged in the tropics.</p> + +<p>“If we had found his stomach,” said the doctor, “and ascertained what +kind of trees were in it, this question would have been decided. We +could determine his residence from the character of his food.”</p> + +<p>Though making diligent search the doctor found no trace of the +stomach, and the great point is still open to dispute. He brought away +the under jaw of the beast, and a quantity of skin and hair. The skin +was half an inch thick, and as dry and hard as a piece of sole +leather. The hair was like fine long bristles, and of a reddish brown +color. From the quantity obtained it is thought the animal was pretty +well protected against ordinary weather. The doctor gave me a cigar +tube which a Samoyede fabricated from a small bone of the mammoth. He +estimated that the beast had been frozen about ten thousand years in +the bank where he found him, and that his natural dwelling place was +in the north. The country was evidently much warmer when the mammoth, +roamed over it than now, and there is a belief that some convulsion of +the earth, followed by a lowering of the temperature, sealed the +remains of the huge beasts in the spots where they are now discovered.</p> + +<p>In the year 1799 a bank of frozen earth near the mouth of the Lina, in +Latitude 77° broke away and revealed the body of a mammoth. Hair, +skin, flesh and all, had been completely preserved by the frost. In +1806 a scientific commission visited the spot, but the lapse of seven +years proved of serious consequence. There had been a famine in the +surrounding region, and the natives did not scruple to feed their dogs +from the store of flesh which nature had preserved. Not supposing the +emperor desired the bones of the beast they carried away such as they +fancied. The teeth of the bears, wolves, and foxes were worse than +the tooth of Time, and finished all edible substance the natives did +not take. Only the skeleton remained, and of this several bones were +gone. All that could be found was taken, and is now in the Imperial +collection at St. Petersburg.</p> + +<p>The remains of the mammoth show that the beast was closely akin to the +elephant, but had a longer and more compressed skull, and wore his +tusks in a different manner. Tusks have been found more than nine feet +long, and I am told that one discovered some years ago, exceeds ten +feet in length. The skull from the Lena mammoth weighed four hundred +and some odd pounds. Others have been found much larger. The mammoth +was evidently an animal that commanded the respect of the elephant, +and other small fry quadrupeds.</p> + +<p>Bones of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus abound in Northern Siberia, +and like those of the mammoth are found in the frozen earth. In the +last century the body of a rhinoceros of an extinct species was found +on the river Vilouy, a tributary of the Lena. In the museum at St. +Petersburg there is a head of the Arctic rhinoceros on which the skin +and tendons remain, and a foot of the same animal displays a portion +of its hair. The claws of an enormous bird are also found in the +north, some of them three feet long, and jointed through their whole +length like the claws of an ostrich.</p> + +<p>Captain Wrangell and other explorers say the mammoth bones are smaller +on the Arctic islands than on the main land, but are wonderfully +increased in quantity. For many years the natives and fur traders have +brought away large cargoes, but the supply is not yet exhausted. The +teeth and tusks on the islands are more fresh and white than those of +the Continent. On the Lachoff Islands the principal deposit was on a +low sand bank, and the natives declared that when the waves receded +after an easterly wind, a fresh supply was always found. One island +about latitude 80° was said to be largely composed of mammoth bones. I +presume this statement should be received with a little caution. +During the doctor’s expedition the supply of provisions was not +always abundant, but there was no absolute scarcity. The party lived +for some time on fish, and on the flesh of the reindeer. A story was +told that the explorers were reduced to subsisting on the mammoth they +discovered, and hence their failure to bring away portions of the +flesh. Mammoth cutlets and soup were occasionally proposed for the +entertainment of the <i>savants</i> on their return to Irkutsk.</p> + +<p>One of my acquaintances had a narrow escape from death on the ice +during an expedition toward Kotelnoi Island, and the chain lying to +the east of it, generally known as New Siberia. It was early in the +spring—somewhat later than the time of the ordinary winter +journeys—that he set out from the mouth of the Lena, hoping to reach +Kotelnoi Island, and return before the weather became warm. He had +four dog teams, and was accompanied by a Russian servant and two Yakut +natives, whom he engaged for a voyage down the Lena, and the +expedition across the ice. It was known that a quantity of ivory had +been gathered on the island, and was waiting for transportation to the +Lena; to get this ivory was the object of the journey. I will tell the +story in the words of the narrator, or as nearly as I can do so from +recollection.</p> + +<p>“We reached the island without serious trouble; the weather was clear +and cold, and the traveling quite as good as we expected. Where the +ice was level we got along very well, though there were now and then +deep fissures caused by the frost, and which we had some difficulty in +crossing. Frequently we were obliged to detach the dogs from the sleds +and compel them to jump singly across the fissures. The sledges were +then drawn over by hand, and once on the other side the teams were +re-harnessed, and proceeded on their way. The ice was seven or eight +feet thick, and some of the fissures were a yard wide at the surface, +and tapered to a wedge shape at the bottom. It was not absolutely +dangerous, though very inconvenient to fall into one of the crevices, +and our dogs were very careful to secure a good foothold on the edges +where they jumped.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg501-1.gif' id='xlg501-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>DOGS AMONG ICE.</p></div> + +<p>“The second day out we got among a great many hummocks, or detached +pieces of bergs, that caused us much trouble. They were so numerous +that we were often shut out from the horizon, and were guided solely +by the compass. Frequently we found them so thick that it was +impossible to break a road through them, and after working for an hour +or two, we would be compelled to retrace our steps, and endeavor to +find a new route. Where they formed in ridges, and were not too high, +we broke them down with our ice-hatchets; the work was very exhausting +to us, and so was the task of drawing the sledges to the poor dogs.</p> + +<p>“Just as we left the level ice, and came among these hummocks, the +dogs came on the fresh track of a polar bear, and at once started to +follow him. My team was ahead, and the dogs set out in full chase, too +rapidly for me to stop them, though I made every effort to do so. The +other teams followed close upon us, and very soon my sledge +overturned, and the dogs became greatly mixed up. The team of Nicolai, +my servant, was likewise upset close to mine, and we had much trouble +to get them right again. Ivan and Paul, the two Yakuts, came up and +assisted us. Their dogs following on our track had not caught the +scent of the bear so readily as ours, and consequently were more +easily brought to a stop.</p> + +<p>“We set the sledges right, and when we were ready to start, the sharp +eyes of Ivan discovered the bear looking at us from behind a hummock, +and evidently debating in his mind whether to attack us or not. +Leaving the teams in charge of Paul, I started with Nicolai and Ivan +to endeavor to kill the bear. Nicolai and myself were armed with +rifles, while Ivan carried a knife and an ice-hatchet.</p> + +<p>“The bear stood very patiently as we approached; he was evidently +unaccustomed to human visitors, and did not understand what we were +about. The hummock where he stood was not very steep, and I thought it +best to get a position a little above him for better safety, in case +we had a sharp fight after firing our first shot. We took our stand on +a little projection of ice a few feet higher than where he was, and +about thirty paces distant; I arranged that Nicolai should fire first, +as I was a better shot than he, and it would be best for me to have +the reserve. Nicolai fired, aiming at the bear’s heart, which was well +protected, as we knew, by a thick hide and a heavy mass of flesh.</p> + +<p>“The shot was not fatal. The bear gave a roar of pain, and sprang +toward us. I waited until he placed his huge fore paws over the edge +of the little ridge where we stood, and exposed his throat and chest. +He was not more than ten feet away, and I buried the bullet exactly +where I wished. But, notwithstanding both our shots, the animal was +not killed, but lifted himself easily above the shelf, and sprang +toward us.</p> + +<p>“We retreated higher up to another shelf, and as the bear attempted to +climb it, Nicolai struck him with the butt of his rifle, which the +beast warded off with his paw, and sent whirling into the snow. But at +the same instant Ivan took his opportunity to deal an effective blow +with his ice-hatchet, which he buried in the skull of the animal, +fairly penetrating his brain. The blow accomplished what our shots had +not. Bruin fell back, and after a few convulsive struggles, lay dead +at our feet.</p> + +<p>“We hastened back to the teams, and brought them forward. We were not +absent more than twenty minutes, but by the time we returned several +Arctic foxes had made their appearance, and were snuffing the air, +preparatory to a feast. We drove them off, and very soon, the dogs +were enjoying a meal of fresh meat, that we threw to them immediately +on removing the skin of the bear, which the Yakuts accomplished with +great alacrity. The beast was old and tough, so that most of his flesh +went to the dogs, part of it being eaten on the spot, while the rest +was packed on the sledges for future use.</p> + +<p>“We had no other incidents of importance until our return from the +island. The weather suddenly became cloudy, and a warm wind set in +from the southward. The snow softened so that the dogs could with +difficulty draw the sledges, even when relieved of our weight. We +walked by their side, encouraging them in every possible way, and as +the softness of the snow increased, it became necessary to throw away +a part of the loads. Our safety required that we should reach the land +as soon as possible, since there were many indications that the ice +was about to break up. After sixteen hours of continuous dragging, we +stopped, quite exhausted, though still thirty miles from land, as it +was absolutely impossible for men or dogs to proceed further without +rest. I was so utterly worn out that I sank upon the snow, hardly able +to move. The Yakuts fed the dogs, and then lay down at their side, +anxiously waiting the morning to bring us relief.</p> + +<p>“Just as the day was opening, I was awakened by a rumbling noise, and +a motion below me, followed by a shout from Ivan.</p> + +<p>“‘The ice is breaking up!’</p> + +<p>“I sprang to my feet, and so did my companions. The dogs were no less +sensible of their danger than ourselves, and stirred uneasily while +giving vent to plaintive whines. The wind from the south had +increased; it was blowing directly off the land, and I could see that +the ice was cracking here and there under its influence, and the whole +field was in motion. Dark lanes appeared, and continued to increase in +width, besides growing every minute more numerous. I ordered all the +loads thrown from the sledges, with the exception of a day’s +provisions for men and dogs, and a few of our extra garments. When +this was done—- and it was done very speedily—- we started for the +shore.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg504-1.gif' id='xlg504-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>JUMPING THE FISSURES.</p></div> + +<p>“We jumped the dogs over the smaller crevices without serious +accident, but the larger ones gave us a great deal of trouble. On +reaching them, we skirted along their edges till we could find a cake +of ice large enough to ferry us over. In this way we crossed more than +twenty openings, some of them a hundred yards in width. Do not suppose +we did so without being thrown several times in the water, and on one +occasion four of the dogs were drowned. The poor brutes became tangled +in their harness, and it was impossible to extricate them. All the +dogs seemed to be fully aware of their danger, and to understand that +their greatest safety lay in their obeying us. I never saw them more +obedient, and they rarely hesitated to do what we commanded. It +grieved me greatly to see the dogs drowning when we were unable to +help them, but could only listen to their cries for help, until +stifled by the water.</p> + +<p>“We toiled all day, and night found us five miles from shore, with a +strip of open water between us and land. Here and there were floating +cakes of ice, but the main body had been blown off by the wind and +promised to be a mile or two further to the north before morning.</p> + +<p>“I determined to wait for daylight, and then endeavor to reach the +shore on cakes of ice. The attempt would be full of danger, but there +was nothing else to be done. Reluctantly I proposed abandoning the +dogs, but my companions appealed to me to keep them with us, as they +had already saved our lives, and it would be the basest ingratitude to +desert them. I did not require a second appeal, and promised that +whatever we did, the dogs should go with us if possible.</p> + +<p>“Imagine the horror of that night! We divided the little food that +remained, men and dogs sharing alike, and tried to rest upon the ice. +We had no means of making a fire, our clothing was soaked with water, +and, during the night, the wind shifted suddenly to the northward and +became cold. I was lying down, and fell asleep from utter exhaustion; +though the cold was severe, I did not think it dangerous, and felt +quite unable to exercise to keep warm. The Yakuts, with Nicolai, +huddled among the dogs, and were less wearied than I. When they +shouted to me at daybreak, I slowly opened my eyes, and found that I +could not move. I was frozen fast to the ice!</p> + +<p>“Had I been alone there would have been no escape. My companions came +to my relief, but it was with much difficulty that they freed me from +my unpleasant situation. When we looked about, we found that our +circumstances had greatly changed during the night. The wind had +ceased, and the frost had formed fresh ice over the space where there +was open water the day before. It was out of the question to ferry to +land, and our only hope lay in driving the sledges over the new ice. I +ordered the teams to be made ready, and to keep several hundred yards +apart, so as to make as little weight as possible on one spot. I took +one sledge, Nicolai another, and the Yakuts the third. Our fourth +sledge was lost at the time of our accident the day before.</p> + + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<a name='ILLUS_506'></a> +<img src="images/sm506-1.gif" id='sm506-1' class='ig001' alt="" /> +<p>THE TEAM.</p></div> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<p>“Our plan was to drive at full speed, to lessen the danger of breaking +through. Once through the ice, there would have been no hope for us. +We urged the dogs forward with loud cries, and they responded to our +wishes by exerting all their strength. We went forward at a gallop. I +reached the shore in safety, and so did Nicolai, but not so the poor +Yakuts.</p> + +<p>“When within a mile of the land I heard a cry. I well knew what it +meant, but I could give no assistance, as a moment’s pause would have +seen me breaking through our frail support. I did not even dare to +look around, but continued shouting to the dogs to carry them to land. +Once there, I wiped the perspiration from my face, and ventured to +look over the track where I came.</p> + +<p>“The weight of the two men upon one sledge had crushed the ice, and +men, dogs and sledge had fallen into the water. Unable to serve them +in the least, we watched till their struggles were ended, and then +turned sorrowfully away. The ice closed over them, and the bed of the +Arctic Ocean became their grave.”</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLII.</h2></div> + + +<p>In the morning after our departure from Krasnoyarsk we reached a third +station, and experienced no delay in changing horses. The road greatly +improved, but we made slow progress. When we were about two versts +from the station one of our horses left the sleigh and bolted +homeward. The yemshick went in pursuit, but did not overtake the +runaway till he reached the station. During his absence we sat +patiently, or rather impatiently, in our furs, and I improved the +opportunity to go to sleep.</p> + +<p>When we wore properly reconstructed we moved forward, with my equipage +in the rear. The mammoth sleigh went at a disreputably low speed. I +endeavored to persuade our yemshick to take the lead, but he refused, +on the ground that the smotretal would not permit it. Added to this, +he stopped frequently to make pretended arrangements of the harness, +where he imagined it out of order. To finish my irritation at his +manoeuvres, he proposed to change with a yemshick he met about half +way on his route. This would bring each to his own station at the end +of the drive, and save a return trip. The man had been so dilatory and +obstinate that I concluded to take my opportunity, and stubbornly +refused permission for the change. This so enraged him that he drove +very creditably for the rest of the way.</p> + +<p>“Both of them Jews,” he said to the attendants at the station when we +arrived. His theory as to our character was something like this. Of +the male travelers in Siberia there are practically but two +classes—officers and merchants. We could not be officers, as we wore +no uniform; therefore we were merchants. The trading class in Siberia +comprises Russians of pure blood and Jews, the former speaking only +their own language and never using any other. As the yemshick did not +understand our conversation, he at once set us down as Israelites in +whom there was any quantity of guile.</p> + +<p>We breakfasted on pilmania, bread, and tea while the horses were being +changed, and I managed to increase our bill of fare with some boiled +eggs. The continual jolting and the excessive cold gave me a good +appetite and excellent digestion. Our food was plain and not served as +at Delmonico’s, but I always found it palatable. We stopped twice a +day for meals, and the long interval between dinner time and breakfast +generally made me ravenously hungry by morning. The village where the +obstinate yemshick left us, had a bad reputation on the scale of +honesty, but we suffered no loss there. At another village said to +contain thieves, we did not leave the sleigh.</p> + +<p>About noon we met a convoy of exiles moving slowly along the snowy +road. The prisoners were walking in double column, but without +regularity and not attempting to ‘keep step.’ Two soldiers with +muskets and fixed bayonets marched in front and two others brought up +the rear. There were thirty or more prisoners, all clad in sheepskin +garments, their heads covered with Russian hoods, and their hands +thrust into heavy mittens. Behind the column there were four or five +sleighs containing baggage and foot-sore prisoners, half a dozen +soldiers, and two women. The extreme rear was finished by two +soldiers, with muskets and fixed bayonets, riding on an open sledge. +The rate of progress was regulated by the soldiers at the head of the +column. Most of the prisoners eyed us as we drove past, but there were +several who did not look up.</p> + +<p>At nearly every village there is an <i>ostrog</i>, or prison, for the +accommodation of exiles. It is a building, or several buildings, +enclosed with a palisade or other high fence. Inside its strong gate +one cannot easily escape, and I believe the attempt is rarely made. +Generally the rooms or buildings nearest the gate are the residences +of the officers and guards, the prisoners being lodged as far as +possible from the point of egress. The distance from one station to +the next varies according to the location of the villages, but is +usually about twenty versts. Generally the ostrog is outside the +village, but not far away. The people throughout Siberia display +unvarying kindness to exiles on their march. When a convoy reaches a +village the inhabitants bring whatever they can spare, whether of food +or money, and either deliver it to the prisoners in the street or +carry it to the ostrog. Many peasants plant little patches of turnips +and beets, where runaway prisoners may help themselves at night +without danger of interference if discovered by the owner.</p> + +<p>In every party of exiles, each man takes his turn for a day in asking +and receiving charity, the proceeds being for the common good. In +front of my quarters in Irkutsk a party of prisoners were engaged +several days in setting posts. One of the number accosted every passer +by, and when he received any thing the prisoners near him echoed his +‘thank you.’ Many couples were engaged, under guard, in carrying water +from the river to the prison. One man of each couple solicited +‘tobacco money’ for both. The soldiers make no objection to charity +toward prisoners. I frequently observed that when any person +approached with the evident intention of giving something to the water +carriers, the guards halted to facilitate the donation.</p> + +<p>Very often on my sleigh ride I met convoys of exiles. On one occasion +as we were passing an ostrog the gate suddenly opened, and a dozen +sleighs laden with prisoners emerged and drove rapidly to the +eastward. Five-sixths of the exiles I met on the road were riding, and +did not appear to suffer from cold. They were well wrapped in +sheepskin clothing, and seated, generally three together, in the +ordinary sleighs of the country. Formerly most exiles walked the +entire distance from Moscow to their destination, but of late years it +has been found better economy to allow them to ride. Only certain +classes of criminals are now required to go on foot. All other +offenders, including ‘politiques,’ are transported in vehicles at +government expense. Any woman can accompany or follow her husband into +exile.</p> + +<p>Those on foot go from one station to the next for a day’s march. They +travel two days and rest one, and unless for special reasons, are not +required to break the Sabbath. Medical officers are stationed in the +principal towns, to look after the sanitary condition of the +emigrants. The object being to people the country, the government +takes every reasonable care that the exiles do not suffer in health +while on the road. Of course those that ride do not require as much +rest as the pedestrians. They usually stop at night at the ostrogs, +and travel about twelve or fourteen hours a day. Distinguished +offenders, such as the higher class of revolutionists, officers +convicted of plotting against the state or robbing the Treasury, are +generally rushed forward night and day. To keep him secure from +escape, an exile of this class is sometimes chained to a soldier who +rides at his side.</p> + +<p>One night, between Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk, I was awakened by an +unusual motion of the sleigh. We were at the roadside passing a column +of men who marched slowly in our direction. As I lifted our curtain +and saw the undulating line of dark forms moving silently in the dim +starlight, and brought into relief against the snow hills, the scene +appeared something more than terrestrial. I thought of the array of +spectres that beleaguered the walls of Prague, if we may trust the +Bohemian legend, and of the shadowy battalions described by the old +poets of Norseland, in the days when fairies dwelt in fountains, and +each valley was the abode of a good or evil spirit. But my fancies +were cut short by my companion briefly informing me that we were +passing a convoy of prisoners recently ordered from Irkutsk to +Yeneseisk. It was the largest convoy I saw during my journey, and +included, as I thought, not less than two hundred men.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon of the first day from Krasnoyarsk we reached Achinsk, +a town of two or three thousand inhabitants, on the bank of the Chulim +river. We were told the road was so bad as to require four horses to +each sleigh to the next station. We consented to pay for a horse +additional to the three demanded by our padaroshnia, and were carried +along at very good speed. Part of the way was upon the ice, which had +formed during a wind, that left disagreeable ridges. We picked out the +best places, and had not our horses slipped occasionally, the icy road +would not have been unpleasant. On the bare ground which we traversed +in occasional patches after leaving the river, the horses behaved +admirably and made little discrimination between sand and snow. +Whenever they lagged the yemshick lashed them into activity.</p> + +<p>I observed in Siberia that whip cracking is not fashionable. The long, +slender, snapping whips of Western Europe and America are unknown. The +Siberian uses a short stock with a lash of hemp, leather, or other +flexible substance, but never dreams of a snapper at its end. Its only +use is for whipping purposes, and a practiced yemshick can do much +with it in a short time.</p> + +<p>The Russian drivers talk a great deal to their horses, and the speech +they use depends much upon the character and performance of the +animals. If the horse travels well he may be called the dove or +brother of his driver, and assured that there is abundance of +excellent hay awaiting him at home. Sometimes a neat hint is given +that he is drawing a nice gentleman who will be liberal and enable the +horse to have an extra feed. Sometimes the man rattles off his words +as if the brute understood everything said to him. An obstinate or +lazy horse is called a variety of names the reverse of endearing. I +have heard him addressed as ‘<i>sabaka</i>,’ (dog); and on frequent +occasions his maternity was ascribed to the canine race in epithets +quite disrespectful. Horses came in for an amount of profanity about +like that showered upon army mules in America. It used to look a +little out of place to see a yemshick who had shouted <i>chort!</i> and +other unrefined expressions to his team, devoutly crossing himself +before a holy picture as soon as his beasts were unharnessed.</p> + +<p>A few versts from Achinsk we crossed the boundary between Eastern and +Western Siberia. The Chulim is navigable up to Achinsk, and during the +past two years steamers have been running between this town and Tomsk. +The basin of the Ob contains nearly as many navigable streams as that +of the Mississippi, and were it not for the severity of the climate, +the long winter, and the northerly course of the great river, this +valley might easily develop much wealth. But nature is unfavorable, +and man is powerless to change her laws.</p> + +<p>On changing at the station we again took four horses to each sleigh, +and were glad we did so. The ground was more bare as we proceeded, and +obliged us to leave the high road altogether and seek a track wherever +it could be found. While we were dashing through a mass of rocks and +stumps one of our horses fell dead, and brought us to a sudden halt. +In his fall he became entangled with the others, and it required some +minutes to set matters right. The yemshick felt for the pulse of the +beast until fully satisfied that no pulse existed. Happily we were not +far from a station, so that the reduction of our team was of no +serious consequence. In this region I observed cribs like roofless log +houses placed near the roadside at intervals of a few hundred yards. +They were intended to hold materials for repairing the road.</p> + +<p>On the upper waters of the Chulim there is a cascade of considerable +beauty, according to the statement of some who never saw it. A few +years ago a Siberian gold miner discovered a cataract on the river +Hook, in the Irkutsk government, that he thought equal to Niagara, and +engaged an artist to make a drawing of the curiosity. On reaching the +spot, the latter individual found the cascade a very small affair. +Throughout Russia, Niagara is considered one of the great wonders of +the world, and nothing could have been more pleasing to the Siberians +than to find its rival in their own country.</p> + +<p>When I first began traveling in Siberia a gentleman one day expressed +the hope of seeing America before long, but added, “much pleasure of +my visit will be lacking now that you have lost Niagara.” I could not +understand him, and asked an explanation.</p> + +<p>“Why,” said he, “since Niagara has been worn away to a continuous +rapid it must have lost all its grandeur and sublimity. I shall go +there, but I cannot enjoy it as I should have enjoyed the great +cataract.”</p> + +<p>I explained that Niagara was as perfect as ever, and had no indication +of wearing itself away. It appeared that some Russian newspaper, +misled, I presume, by the fall of Table Rock, announced that the whole +precipice had broken down and left a long rapid in place of the +cataract. Several times during my journey I was called upon to correct +this impression.</p> + +<p>At the third station beyond Achinsk we found a neat and well kept room +for travelers. We concluded to dine there, and were waited upon by a +comely young woman whose <i>coiffure</i> showed that she was unmarried. She +brought us the samovar, cooked our pilmania, and boiled a dizaine of +eggs. Among the Russians articles which we count by the dozen are +enumerated by tens. “<i>Skolka stoit, yieetsa</i>?” (How much do eggs +cost), was generally answered, “<i>Petnatzet capecka, decetu</i>” (fifteen +copecks for ten.) Only among the Western nations one finds the dozen +in use.</p> + +<p>While we were at dinner the cold sensibly increased, and on exposing +my thermometer I found it marking -18° Fahrenheit. Schmidt wrapped +himself in all his furs, and I followed his example. Thus enveloped we +filled the entire breadth of our sleigh and could not turn over with +facility. A sharp wind was blowing dead ahead, and we closed the front +of the vehicle to exclude it. The snow whirled in little eddies and +made its way through the crevices at the junction of our sleigh-boot +with the hood. I wrapped a blanket in front of my face for special +protection, and soon managed to fall asleep. The sleigh poising on a +runner and out-rigger, caused the doctor to roll against me during the +first hour of my slumber, and made me dream that I was run over by a +locomotive. When I waked I found my breath had congealed and frozen +my beard to the blanket. It required careful manipulation to separate +the two without injury to either.</p> + +<p>When we stopped to change horses after this experience, the stars were +sparkling with a brilliancy peculiar to the Northern sky. The clear +starlight, unaided by the moon, enabled us to see with great +distinctness. I could discover the outline of the forest away beyond +the village, and trace the road to the edge of a valley where it +disappeared. Every individual star appeared endeavoring to outshine +his rivals, and cast his rays to the greatest distance. Vesta, Sirius, +and many others burned with a brightness that recalled my first view +of the Drummond light, and seemed to dazzle my eyes when I fixed my +gaze upon them.</p> + +<p>The road during the night was rough but respectable, and we managed to +enjoy a fair amount of slumber in our contracted <i>chambre a deux</i>. +Before daylight we reached a station where a traveling bishop had just +secured two sets of horses. Though outside the jurisdiction of General +Korsackoff, I exhibited my special passport knowing it could not, at +all events, do any harm. Out of courtesy the smotretal offered to +supply us as soon as the bishop departed. The reverend worthy was +dilatory in starting, and as we were likely to be delayed an hour or +two, we economized the time by taking tea. I found opportunity for a +short nap after our tea-drinking was over, and only awoke when the +smotretal announced, “<i>loshadi gotovey”</i></p> + +<p>In the forenoon we entered upon the steppe where trees were few and +greatly scattered. Frequently the vision over this Siberian prairie +was uninterrupted for several miles. There was a thin covering of snow +on the open ground, and the dead grass peered above the surface with a +suggestion of summer fertility.</p> + +<p>Shortly after noon I looked through the eddies of snow that whirled in +the frosty air, and distinguished the outline of a church. Another and +another followed, and very soon the roofs and walls of the more +prominent buildings in Tomsk were visible. As we entered the eastern +gate of the city, and passed a capacious powder-magazine, our +yemshick tied up his bell-tongues in obedience to the municipal law. +Our arrival inside the city limits was marked by the most respectful +silence.</p> + +<p>We named a certain hotel but the yemshick coolly took us to another +which he assured us was “<i>acleechny</i>” (excellent). As the exterior and +the appearance of the servants promised fairly, we made no objection, +and allowed our baggage unloaded. The last I saw of our yemshick he +was receiving a subsidy from the landlord in consideration of having +taken us thither. The doctor said the establishment was better than +the one he first proposed to patronize, so that we had no serious +complaint against the management of the affair. Hotel keepers in +Siberia are obliged to pay a commission to whoever brings them +patrons, a practice not unknown, I believe, in American cities.</p> + +<p>We engaged two rooms, one large, and the other of medium size. The +larger apartment contained two sofas, ten or twelve chairs, three +tables, a boy, a bedstead, and a chamber-maid. The boy and the maid +disappeared with a quart or so of dirt they had swept from the floor. +We ordered dinner, and took our ease in our inn. Our baggage piled in +one corner of the room would have made a creditable stock for an +operator in the “Elbow Market” at Moscow. We thawed our beards, +washed, changed our clothing, and pretended we felt none the worse for +our jolting over the rough road from Krasnoyarsk.</p> + +<p>The hotel, though Asiatic, was kept on the European plan. The landlord +demanded our passports before we removed our outer garments, and +apologized by saying the regulations were very strict. The documents +went at once to the police, and returned in the morning with the visa +of the chief. Throughout Russia a hotel proprietor generally keeps the +passports of his patrons until their bills are paid, but this landlord +trusted in our honor, and returned the papers at once. The visa +certified there were no charges against us, pecuniary or otherwise, +and allowed us to remain or depart at our pleasure. It is a Russian +custom for the police to be informed of claims against persons +suspected of intent to run away. The individual cannot obtain +authority to depart until his accounts are settled. Formerly the law +required every person, native and foreign, about to leave Russia, to +advertise his intention through a newspaper. This formula is now +dispensed with, but the intending traveler must produce a receipt in +full from his hotel keeper.</p> + +<p>At the hotel we found a gentleman from Eastern Siberia on his way to +St. Petersburg. He left Irkutsk two days behind me, passed us in +Krasnoyarsk, and came to grief in a partial overturn five miles from +Tomsk. He was waiting to have his broken vehicle thoroughly repaired +before venturing on the steppe. He had a single vashok in which he +stowed himself, wife, three children, and a governess. How the whole +party could be packed into the carriage I was at a loss to imagine. +Its limits must have been suggestive of the close quarters of a can of +sardines.</p> + +<p>We used our furs for bed clothing and slept on the sofas, less +comfortably I must confess than in the sleigh. The close atmosphere of +a Russian house is not as agreeable to my lungs as the open air, and +after a long journey one’s first night in a warm room is not +refreshing. There was no public table at the hotel; meals were served +in our room, and each item was charged separately at prices about like +those of Irkutsk.</p> + +<p>In the morning we put on our best clothes, and visited the +gubernatorial mansion. The governor was at St. Petersburg, and we were +received by the Vice-Governor, an amiable gentleman of about fifty +years, who reminded me of General S.R. Curtis. Before our interview we +waited ten or fifteen minutes at one end of a large hall. The +Vice-Governor was at the other end listening to a woman whose +streaming eyes and choked utterance showed that her story was one of +grief. The kind hearted man appeared endeavoring to soothe her. I +could not help hearing the conversation though ignorant of its +purport, and, as the scene closed, I thought I had not known before +the extent of pathos in the Russian language.</p> + +<p>We had a pleasant interview with the vice-governor who gave us +passports to Barnaool, on learning that we wished to visit that place. +Among those who called during our stay was the golovah of Tomsk, a man +whose physical proportions resembled those of the renowned Wouter Van +Twiller, as described by Washington Irving. Every golovah I met in +Siberia was of aldermanic proportions, and I wondered whether physical +developments had any influence in selections for this office. Just +before leaving the governor’s residence, we were introduced to Mr. +Naschinsky, of Barnaool, to whom I had a letter of introduction from +his cousin, Paul Anossoff. As he was to start for home that evening, +we arranged to accompany him. Our visit ended, we drove through the +principal streets, and saw the chief features of the town.</p> + +<p>Tomsk takes its name from the river Tom, on whose banks it is built. +It stands on the edge of the great Baraba steppe, and has about twenty +thousand inhabitants of the usual varied character of a Russian +population. I saw many fine houses, and was told that in society and +wealth the city was little inferior to Irkutsk. Here, as at other +places, large fortunes have been made in gold mining. Several heavy +capitalists were mentioned as owners of concessions in the mining +districts. Many of their laborers passed the winter at Tomsk in the +delights of urban life. The city is of considerable importance as it +controls much of the commerce of Siberia. The site is picturesque, +being partly on the low ground next the river, and partly on the hills +above it. In contemplating the location, I was reminded of Quebec. I +found much activity in the streets and market places, and good +assortments of merchandise in the shops.</p> + +<p>Near our hotel, over a wide ravine, was a bridge, constantly traversed +by vehicles and pedestrians, and lighted at night by a double row of +lamps. Some long buildings near the river, and just outside the +principal market had a likeness to American railway stations, and the +quantities of goods piled on their verandas aided the illusion. About +noon the market-place was densely crowded, and there appeared a brisk +traffic in progress. There was a liberal array of articles to eat, +wear, or use, with a very fair quantity for which no use could be +imagined.</p> + +<p>In summer there is a waterway from Tomsk to Tumen, a thousand miles to +the westward, and a large amount of freight to and from Siberia passes +over it. Steamers descend the Tom to the Ob, which they follow to the +Irtish. They then ascend the Irtish, the Tobol, and the Tura to Tumen, +the head of navigation. The government proposes a railway between Perm +and Tumen to unite the great water courses of Europe and Siberia. A +railway from Tomsk to Irkutsk is among the things hoped for by the +Siberians, and will be accomplished at some future day. The arguments +urged against its construction are the length of the route, the +sparseness of population, and the cheap rates at which freight is now +transported. Probably Siberia would be no exception to the rule that +railways create business, and sustain it, but I presume it will be +many years before the locomotive has a permanent way through the +country.</p> + +<p>Some years ago it was proposed to open a complete water route between +Tumen and Kiachta. The most eastern point that a steamer could attain +in the valley of the Ob is on the river Ket. A canal about thirty +miles long would connect the Ket with the Yenesei, whence it was +proposed to follow the Angara, Lake Baikal, and the Selenga to Oust +Kiachta. But the swiftness of the Angara, and its numerous rapids, +seventy-eight in all, stood in the way of the project. At present no +steamers can ascend the Angara, and barges can only descend when the +water is high. To make the channel safely navigable would require a +heavy outlay of money for blasting rocks, and digging canals. I could +not ascertain that there was any probability of the scheme being +realized.</p> + +<p>In 1866 twelve steamers were running between Tumen and Tomsk. These +boats draw about two feet of water, and tow one or more barges in +which freight is piled. No merchandise is carried on the boats. +Twelve days are consumed in the voyage with barges; without them it +can be made in a week. All the steamers yet constructed are for towing +purposes, the passenger traffic not being worth attention. The golovah +of Tomsk is a heavy owner in these steamboats, and he proposed +increasing their number and enlarging his business. A line of smaller +boats has been started to connect Tomsk with Achinsk. The introduction +of steam on the Siberian rivers has given an impetus to commerce, and +revealed the value of certain interests of the country. An active +competition in the same direction would prove highly beneficial, and +bye and bye they will have the railway.</p> + +<p>During my ride about the streets the isvoshchik pointed out a large +building, and explained that it was the seminary or high school of +Tomsk. I was told that the city, like Irkutsk, had a female school or +“Institute,” and an establishment for educating the children of the +priests. The schools in the cities and large towns of Siberia have a +good reputation, and receive much praise from those who patronize +them. The Institute at Irkutsk is especially renowned, and had during +the winter of 1866 something more than a hundred boarding pupils. The +gymnasium or school for boys was equally flourishing, and under the +direct control of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for Eastern +Siberia. The branches of education comprise the ordinary studies of +schools everywhere—arithmetic, grammar, and geography, with reading +and writing. When these elementary studies are mastered the higher +mathematics, languages, music, and painting follow. In the primary +course the prayers of the church and the manner of crossing one’s self +are considered essential.</p> + +<p>Most of those who can afford It employ private teachers for their +children, and educate them at home. The large schools in the towns are +patronized by the upper and middle classes, and sometimes pupils come +from long distances. There are schools for the peasant children, but +not sufficiently numerous to make education general. It is a +lamentable fact that the peasants as a class do not appreciate the +importance of knowledge. Hitherto all these peasant schools have been +controlled by the church, the subordinate priests being appointed to +their management.</p> + +<p>Quite recently the Emperor has ordered a system of public instruction +throughout the empire. Schools are to be established, houses built, +and teachers paid by the government. Education is to be taken entirely +from, the hands of the priests, and entrusted to the best qualified +instructors without regard to race or religion. The common school +house in the land of the czars! Universal education among the subjects +of the Autocrat! Well may the other monarchies of Europe fear the +growing power and intelligence of Russia. May God bless Alexander, and +preserve him many years to the people whose prosperity he holds so +dearly at heart.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_520'></a> +<img src="images/sm520-1.gif" id='sm520-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>When we left Tomsk in the evening, the snow was falling rapidly, and +threatened to obliterate the track along the frozen surface of the +river. There were no post horses at the station, and we were obliged +to charter private teams at double the usual rates. The governor +warned us that we might have trouble in securing horses, and requested +us to refer to him if the smotretal did not honor our pada ashnia. We +did not wish to trespass further on his kindness, and concluded to +submit to the extortion and say nothing. The station keeper owned the +horses we hired, and we learned he was accustomed to declare his +regular troikas “out” on all possible occasions. Of course, a traveler +anxious to proceed, would not hesitate long at paying two or three +roubles extra.</p> + +<p>We dashed over the rough ice of the Tom for a few versts and then +found a road on solid earth. We intended to visit Barnaool, and for +this purpose left the great road at the third station, and turned +southward. The falling snow beat so rapidly into our sleigh that we +closed the vehicle and ignored the outer world. Mr. Naschinsky started +with us from Tomsk, but after a few stations he left us and hurried +away at courier speed toward Barnaool. He proved an <i>avant courier</i> +for us, and warned the station masters of our approach, so that we +found horses ready.</p> + +<p>On this side road the contract requires but three troikas at a +station. Three sleighs together were an unusual number, so that the +smotretals generally obtained one or both our teams from the village. +On the last half of the route the yemshicks did not take us to the +stations but to the houses of their friends where we promptly obtained +horses at the regular rates. The peasants between Tomsk and Barnaool +own many horses, and are pleased at the opportunity to earn a little +cash with them.</p> + +<p>Snow, darkness, and slumber prevented our seeing much of the road +during the night. In the morning, I found we were traveling through an +undulating and generally wooded country, occasionally crossing rivers +and small lakes on the ice. The track was a wonderful improvement over +that between Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk. The stations or peasant houses +where we changed horses, were not as good as those on the great road. +The rooms were frequently small and heated to an uncomfortable degree. +In one house, notwithstanding the great heat, several children were +seated on the top of the stove, and apparently enjoying themselves. +The yemshicks and attendants were less numerous than on the great +road, but we could find no fault with their service. On one course of +twenty versts our sleigh was driven by a boy of thirteen, though +seemingly not more than ten. He handled the whip and reins with the +skill of a veteran, and earned an extra gratuity from his passengers.</p> + +<p>The road was marked by upright poles ten or twelve feet high at +distances of one or two hundred feet. There were distance posts with +the usual black and white alternations, but the figures were generally +indistinct, and many posts were altogether wanting. On the main road +through the whole length of Siberia, there is a post at every verst, +marking in large numbers the distance to the first station on either +side of it. At the stations there are generally posts that show the +distance to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the provincial or ‘government’ +capitals on either side.</p> + +<p>For a long time I could never rid myself of a sensation of ‘goneness’ +when I read the figures indicating the distance to St. Petersburg. +Above seven thousand they were positively frightful; between six and +seven thousand, they were disagreeable to say the least. Among the +five thousand and odd versts, I began to think matters improving, and +when I descended below four thousand, I felt as if in my teens. The +proverb says, “a watched pot never boils.” I can testify that these +distance figures diminished very slowly, and sometimes they seemed to +remain nearly the same from day to day.</p> + +<p>The snow storm that began when we left Tomsk, continued through the +night and the following day. The air was warm, and there was little +wind, so that our principal inconvenience was from the snow flakes in +our faces, and the gradual filling of the road. Toward sunset a wind +arose. Every hour it increased, and before midnight there was good +prospect of our losing our way or being compelled to halt until +daybreak. The snow whirled in thick masses through the air, and +utterly blinded us when we attempted to look out. The road filled with +drifts, and we had much difficulty in dragging through them. The +greatest personal inconvenience was the sifting of snow through the +crevices of our sleigh cover. At every halt we underwent a vigorous +shaking to remove the superfluous snow from our furs.</p> + +<p>A storm with high winds in this region takes the name of <i>bouran</i>. It +is analogous to the <i>poorga</i> of Northeastern Siberia and Kamchatka, +and may occur at any season of the year.</p> + +<p>Bourans are oftentimes very violent, especially in the open steppe. +Any one who has experienced the norther of Texas, or the <i>bora</i> of +Southern Austria, can form an idea of these Siberian storms. The worst +are when the thermometer sinks to twenty-five degrees or more below +zero, and the snow is dashed about with terrific fury. At such times +they are almost insupportable, and the traveler who ventures to face +them runs great risk of his life. Many persons have been lost in the +winter storms, and all experienced voyagers are reluctant to brave +their violence. In summer the wind spends its force on the earth and +sand which it whirls in large clouds. A gentleman told me he had seen +the dry bed of a river where there were two feet of sand, swept clean +to the rock by the strength of the wind alone. A little past daylight +the sleigh came to a sudden stop despite the efforts of all concerned. +The last hundred versts of our ride we had four horses to each sleigh, +and their united strength was not more than sufficient for our +purpose. The drift where we stopped was at least three feet deep, and +pretty closely packed. We, that is to say, the horses and yemshicks, +made several efforts but could not carry the sleigh through. The +mammoth sleigh came up and the two yemshicks trod a path through the +worst part of the drift. The doctor and I descended from the vehicle, +and assisted by looking on. The sleigh thus lightened, was dragged +through the obstruction but unfortunately turned on its beam ends, and +filled with snow before it could be righted.</p> + +<p>The bouran was from the south, and raised the temperature above the +freezing point. The increasing heat became uncomfortable after the +cold I had experienced. The horses did not turn white from +perspiration as in colder days, and the exertion of travel set them +panting as in summer. The drivers carefully knotted their (the +horses’) tails to prevent them (the tails) from filling with snow, but +the precaution was not entirely successful. The snow was of the right +consistency for a school boy’s frolic, and would have thrown a group +of American urchins into ecstacies. Whenever our pace quickened to a +trot or gallop, the larboard horse threw a great many snowballs with +his feet. He seemed to aim at my face, and every few minutes I +received what the prize ring would call ‘plumpers in the peeper, and +sockdolagers on the potato-trap.’</p> + +<p>We drove into Barnaool about forty-four hours after leaving Tomsk. At +the hotel we found three rooms containing chairs and tables in +profusion, but not a bed or sofa. Of course we were expected to supply +our own bedding, and need not be particular about a bedstead. The +worst part of the affair was the wet condition of our furs. My +sheepskin sleigh robe was altogether too damp for use, and I sent it +to be dried in the kitchen. Several of my fur garments went the same +way. Even my shooba, which I carried in a bag, had a feeling of +dampness when I unfolded it, and in fact the only dry things about us, +were our throats. We set things drying as best we could, and then +ordered dinner. Before our sleighs were unloaded, a policeman took our +passports and saved us all trouble of going to the station.</p> + +<p>In the evening I accompanied Dr. Schmidt on a visit to a friend and +fellow member of the Academy of Science. We found a party of six or +eight persons, and, as soon as I was introduced, a gentleman +despatched a servant to his house. The man returned with a roll of +sheet music from which our host’s daughter favored us with the “Star +Spangled Banner,” and “Hail Columbia,” as a greeting to the first +American visitor to Barnaool. On our return to our lodgings we made +our beds on the floor, and slept comfortably. The dampness of the furs +developed a rheumatic pain in my shoulder that stiffened me somewhat +inconveniently.</p> + +<p>We breakfasted upon cakes and tea at a late hour in the morning, and +then went to pay our respects to General Freeze, the Nachalnik or +Director of Mines, and to Colonel Filoff, chief of the smelting works. +Both these officers were somewhat past the middle age, quiet and +affable, and each enjoyed himself in coloring a meerschaum. They have +been engaged in mining matters during many years, and are said to be +thoroughly versed in their profession. After visiting these gentlemen +we called upon other official and civilian residents of the city.</p> + +<p>Barnaool is the center of direction of the mining enterprises of the +Altai mountains, and has a population of ten or twelve thousand. +Almost its entire business is in someway connected with mining +affairs, and there are many engineer officers constantly stationed +there. I met some of these gentlemen during my stay, and was indebted +to them for information concerning the manner of working mines and +reducing ores. The city contains a handsome array of public buildings, +including the mining bureau, the hospital, and the zavod or smelting +establishment. General Freeze, the Nachalnik, is director and chief, +not only of the city but of the entire mining district of which +Barnaool is the center. The first discoveries of precious metals in +the Altai regions were made by one of the Demidoffs who was sent there +by Peter the Great. A monument in the public square at Barnaool +records his services, in ever during brass. I was shown an autograph +letter from the Empress Elizabeth giving directions to the Nachalnik +who controlled the mines during her reign. The letter is kept in an +ivory box on the table around which the mining board holds its +sessions. The mines of this region are the personal property of the +Emperor, and their revenues go directly to the crown. I was told that +the government desires to sell or give these mines into private hands, +in the belief that the resources of the country would be more +thoroughly developed. The day before my departure from Barnaool, I +learned that my visit had reference to the possible purchase of the +mining works by an American company. I hastened to assure my informant +that I had no intention of buying the Altai mountains or any part of +them.</p> + +<p>The Nachalnik visits all mines and smelting works in his district at +least once a year, and is constantly in receipt of detailed reports of +operations in progress. His power is almost despotic, and like the +governors of departments throughout all Siberia, he can manage affairs +pretty much in his own way. There are no convict laborers in his +district, the workmen at the mines and zavods being peasants subject +to the orders of government. Each man in the district may be called +upon to work for the Emperor at fixed wages of money and rations. I +believe the daily pay of a laborer is somewhat less than forty +copecks. A compromise for saints days and other festivals is made by +employing the men only two weeks out of three. Relays are so arranged +as to make no stoppage of the works except during the Christmas +holidays.</p> + +<p>I saw many sheets of the geological map of the Altai region, which has +been a long time in preparation, and will require several years to +complete. Every mountain, hill, brook, and valley is laid down by +careful surveyors, and when the map is finished it will be one of the +finest and best in the world. One corps is engaged in surveying and +mapping while another explores and opens mines.</p> + +<p>When the snows are melted in the spring, and the floods have receded +from the streams, the exploring parties are sent into the mountains. +Each officer has a particular valley assigned him, and commands a well +equipped body of men. He is expected to remain in the mountains until +he has finished his work, or until compelled to leave by the approach +of winter. The party procures meat from game, of which there is nearly +always an abundant supply.</p> + +<p>Holes are dug at regular intervals, on the system I have already +described in the mines of the Yenesei. The rocks in and around the +valley are carefully examined for traces of silver, and many specimens +have been collected for the geological cabinet at Barnaool. Maps are +made showing the locality of each test hole in the valley, and the +spot whence every specimen of rock is obtained. On the return of the +party its reports and specimens are delivered to the mining bureau. +The ores go to the laboratory to be assayed, and the specimens of rock +are carefully sorted and examined.</p> + +<p>Gold washings are conducted on the general plan of those in the +Yeneseisk government, the details varying according to circumstances. +A representation of the principal silver mine—somewhat on the plan of +Barnum’s “Niagara with Real Water”—was shown me in the museum. In +general features the mines are not materially unlike silver mines +elsewhere. There are shafts, adits, and levels just as in the mines of +Colorado and California. The Russians give the name of <i>priesk</i> to a +mine where gold is washed from the earth. The silver mine with its +shafts in the solid rock is called a <i>roodnik.</i> As before stated, the +word <i>zavod</i> is applied to foundries, smelting works, and +manufactories in general.</p> + +<p>Colonel Filoff invited the doctor and myself to visit the zavod at +Barnaool on the second day after our arrival. As he spoke no language +with which I was familiar, the colonel placed me in charge of a young +officer fluent in French, who took great pains to explain the <i>modus +operandi</i>. The zavod is on a grand scale, and employs about six +hundred laborers. It is enclosed in a large yard with high walls, and +reminded me of a Pennsylvania iron foundry or the establishment just +below Detroit. A sentry at the gate presented arms as we passed, and I +observed that the rule of no admittance except on business was rigidly +enforced.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg528-1.gif' id='lg528-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>IN THE MINE.</p></div> + +<p>In the yard we were first taken to piles of ore which appeared to an +unpracticed eye like heaps of old mortar and broken granite. These +piles were near a stream which furnishes power for moving the +machinery of the establishment. The ore was exposed to the air and +snow, but the coal for smelting was carefully housed. There were many +sheds for storage within easy distance of the furnaces. The latter +were of brick with tall and substantial chimneys, and the outer walls +that surrounded the whole were heavily and strongly built. Charcoal +is burned in consequence of the cheapness and abundance of wood. I was +told that an excellent quality of stove coal existed in the vicinity, +and would be used whenever it proved most economical. Nearly all the +ore contains copper, silver, and lead, while the rest is deficient in +the last named article. The first kind is smelted without the addition +of lead, and sometimes passes through six or seven reductions. For the +ore containing only copper and silver the process by evaporation of +lead is employed. Formerly the lead was brought from Nerchinsk or +purchased in England, the land transport in either case being very +expensive. Several years ago lead was found in the Altai mountains, +and the supply is now sufficient for all purposes.</p> + +<p>The lead absorbs the silver, and leaves the copper in the refuse +matter. This was formerly thrown away, but by a newly invented process +the copper is extracted and saved. The production of silver in the +Altai mines is about a thousand and fifty poods annually, or forty +thousand pounds avoirdupois. The silver is cast into bars or cakes +about ten inches square, and weighing from seventy to a hundred pounds +each.</p> + +<p>Colonel Filoff showed us into the room where the silver is stored. Two +soldiers were on guard and six or eight others rested outside. A +sergeant brought a sealed box which contained the key of the safe. +First the box and then the safe were opened at the colonel’s order, +and when we had satisfied our curiosity, the safe was locked and the +key restored to its place of deposit. The colonel carried the seal +that closed the box, and the sergeant was responsible for the +integrity of the wax.</p> + +<p>The cakes had a dull hue, somewhat lighter than that of lead, and were +of a convenient shape for handling. Each cake had its weight, and +value, and result of assay stamped upon it, and I was told that it was +assayed again at St. Petersburg to guard against the algebraic process +of substitution. About thirty poods of gold are extracted from every +thousand poods of silver after the treasure reaches St. Petersburg. +The silver is extracted from the lead used to absorb it, the latter +being again employed while the former goes on its long journey to the +banks of the Neva.</p> + +<p>The ore continues to pass through successive reductions until a pood +of it contains no more than three-fourths a zolotink of silver; less +than that proportion will not pay expenses. I was told that the annual +cost of working the mines equaled the value of the silver produced. +The gold contained in the silver is the only item of profit to the +crown. About thirty thousand poods of copper are produced annually in +this district, but none of the copper zavods are at Barnaool.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg530-1.gif' id='lg530-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>STRANGE COINCIDENCE.</p></div> + +<p>All gold produced from the mines of Siberia, with the exception of +that around Nerchinsk, is sent to Barnaool to be smelted. This work is +performed, in a room about fifteen feet square, the furnaces being +fixed in its centre like parlor stoves of unusual size. The smelting +process continues four months of each year, and during this time about +twelve hundred poods of gold are melted and cast into bars. This work, +for 1866, was finished a few days before my arrival, and the furnaces +were utterly devoid of heat. In the yard at the zavod, I saw a dozen +or more sleds, and on each of them there was an iron-bound box filled +with bars of gold. This train was ready to leave under strong guard +for St. Petersburg.</p> + +<p>The morning after my visit to the zavod it was reported that a soldier +guarding the sled train had been killed during the night. The incident +was a topic of conversation for the rest of my stay, but I obtained no +clear account of the affair. All agreed that a sentinel was murdered, +and one of the boxes plundered of several bars of gold, but beyond +this there were conflicting statements. It was the first occurrence of +the kind at Barnaool, and naturally excited the peaceful inhabitants.</p> + +<p>The doctor trusted that the affair would not be associated with our +visit, and I quite agreed with him. It is to be hoped that the future +historian of Barnaool will not mention, the murder and robbery in the +same paragraph with the distinguished arrival of Dr. Schmidt and an +American traveler.</p> + +<p>The rich miners send their gold once a year to Barnaool, the poorer +ones twice a year. Those in pressing need of money receive +certificates of deposit as soon as their gold is cast into bars, and +on these certificates they can obtain cash at the government banks. +The opulent miners remain content till their gold reaches the capital, +and is coined. Four or six months may thus elapse after gold has left +Barnaool before its owner obtains returns.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_531'></a> +<img src="images/sm531-1.gif" id='sm531-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLIV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLIV.</h2></div> + + +<p>The society of Barnaool consists of the mining and other officers, +with a larger proportion of families than at Irkutsk. It had a more +quiet and reserved character than the capital of Eastern Siberia, but +was not the less social and hospitable. Many young officers of the +mining and topographical departments pass their summers in the +mountains and their winters in Barnaool. The cold season is therefore +the gayest, and abounds in balls, parties, concerts, and amateur +theatricals. The former theatre has been converted into a club-room.</p> + +<p>There is a good proportion, for a Siberian town, of elegant and +luxuriant houses. The furniture and adornments were quite as extensive +as at Irkutsk or Tomsk, and several houses that I visited would have +been creditable in Moscow or St. Petersburg. It is no little wonder to +find all the comforts and luxuries of Russian life in the southern +part of Siberia, on the borders of the Kirghese steppes.</p> + +<p>The large and well arranged museum contained more than I could even +glance over in a single day. There were models of machines used in +gold-washing, quartz mills fifty years old, and almost identical with +those of the present day; models of furnaces and zavods in various +parts of Siberia, and full delineations of the principal silver mines +of the Altai. There was a curious steam engine, said to have been made +at Barnaool in 1764, and used for blowing the furnaces. I saw a fine +collection of minerals, birds, beasts, and other curiosities of the +Altai. Particular attention was called to the stuffed skins of two +enormous tigers that were killed several years ago in the southern +part of the district. One of them fell after a long fight, in which he +killed one of his assailants and wounded two others.</p> + +<p>The museum contains several dead specimens of the bearcoot, or eagle +of the Altai. I saw a living bird of this species at the house of an +acquaintance. The bearcoot is larger than the American eagle, and +possesses strength enough to kill a deer or wolf with perfect ease. +Dr. Duhmberg, superintendent of the hospitals, told me of an +experiment with poison upon one of these birds. He began by giving +half a grain of <i>curavar</i>, a poison from South America. It had no +perceptible effect, the appetite and conduct of the bird being +unchanged. A week later he gave four grains of strychnine, and saw the +bird’s feathers tremble fifteen minutes after the poison was +swallowed. Five hours later the patient was in convulsions, but his +head was not affected, and he recovered strength and appetite on the +next day. A week later the bearcoot swallowed seven grains of curavar, +and showed no change for two days. On the second evening he went into +convulsions, and died during the night.</p> + +<p>The Kirghese tame these eagles and employ them in hunting. A gentleman +who had traveled among the Kirghese told me he had seen a bearcoot +swoop down upon a full grown deer and kill him in a few minutes. +Sometimes when a pack of wolves has killed and begun eating a deer, +the feast will be interrupted by a pair of bearcoots. Two birds will +attack a dozen wolves, and either kill or drive them away.</p> + +<p>Barnaool is quite near the Kirghese steppes. One of my acquaintances +had a Kirghese coachman, a tall, well formed man, with thick lips and +a coppery complexion. I established a friendship with this fellow, and +arranged that he should sit for his portrait, but somehow he was never +ready. He brought me two of his kindred, and I endeavored to persuade +the group to be photographed. There was a superstition among them that +it would be detrimental to their post mortem repose if they allowed +their likenesses on this earth when they themselves should leave it. I +offered them one, two, three, and even five roubles, but they +stubbornly refused. Their complexions were dark, and their whole +physiognomy revealed the Tartar blood. They wore the Russian winter +dress, but had their own costume for state occasions. In this part of +Siberia Kirghese are frequently found in Russian employ, and are said +to be generally faithful and industrious. A considerable number find +employment at the Altai mines, and a great many are engaged in taking +cattle and sheep to the Siberian markets.</p> + +<p>The Kirghese lead a nomadic life, making frequent change of residence +to find pasturage for their immense flocks and herds. The different +tribes are more or less hostile to each other, and have a pleasant +habit of organizing raids on a colossal scale. One tribe will suddenly +swoop down upon another and steal all portable property within reach. +They do not mind a little fighting, and an enterprise of this kind +frequently results in a good many broken heads. The chiefs believe +themselves descended from the great warriors of the ancient Tartar +days, and boast loudly of their prowess. The Kirghese are brave in +fighting each other, but have a respectful fear of the Russians. +Occasionally they plunder Russian traders crossing the steppes, but +are careful not to attack unless the odds are on their own side.</p> + +<p>The Russians have applied their diplomacy among the Kirghese and +pushed their boundaries far to the southward. They have purchased +titles to districts controlled by powerful chiefs, and after being +fairly settled have continued negotiations for more territory. They +make use of the hostility between the different tribes, and have +managed so that nearly every feud brought advantages to Russia. Under +their policy of toleration they never interfere with the religion of +the conquered, and are careful not to awaken prejudices. The tribes in +the subjugated territory are left pretty much to their own will. Every +few years the chain of frontier posts is pushed to the southward, and +embraces a newly acquired region. Western Siberia is dotted over with +abandoned and crumbling forts that once guarded the boundary, but are +now far in the interior. Some of these defences are near the great +road across the Baraba steppe.</p> + +<p>The Kirghese do not till the soil nor engage in manufactures, except +of a few articles for their own use. They sell sheep, cattle, and +horses to the Russians, and frequently accompany the droves to their +destination. In return for their flocks and herds they receive goods +of Russian manufacture, either for their own use or for traffic with +the people beyond. Their wealth consists of domestic animals and the +slaves to manage them. Horses and sheep are legal tender in payment of +debts, bribes, and presents.</p> + +<p>In the last few years Russian conquest in Central Asia has moved so +fast that England has taken alarm for her Indian possessions. The last +intelligence from that quarter announces a victory of the Russians +near Samarcand, followed by negotiations for peace. If the Muscovite +power continues to extend over that part of Asia, England has very +good reason to open her eyes.</p> + +<p>I never conversed with the Emperor on this topic, and cannot speak +positively of his intentions toward Asia, but am confident he has +fixed his eye upon conquest as far south of the Altai as he can easily +go. That his armies may sometime hoist the Russian flag in sight of +the Indo-English possessions, is not at all improbable. But that they +will either attempt or desire an aggressive campaign against India is +quite beyond expectation.</p> + +<p>It is but a few years ago that English travelers were killed for +having made their way into Central Asia in disguise, and Vambery, the +Hungarian traveler, was considered to have performed a great feat +because he returned from there with his life. There is now the +Tashkend <i>Messenger</i>, a Russian paper devoted to the interests of that +rich province. Moscow merchants are establishing the Bank of Central +Asia, having its headquarters at Tashkend and a branch at Orenburg, +and Tashkend will soon be in telegraphic communication with the rest +of the world.</p> + +<p>A plan has been proposed to open Central Asia to steam boat +navigation. The river Oxus, or Amoo-Daria, which flows through Bakhara +and Khiva, emptying into the Aral sea, was once a tributary of the +Caspian. Several steamers have been placed upon it, and others are +promised soon. The dry bed of the old channel of the Oxus is visible +in the Turcoman steppe at the present day. The original diversion was +artificial, and the dikes which direct it into the Aral are said to be +maintained with difficulty. It has been proposed to send an expedition +to remove these barriers and turn the river into its former bed.</p> + +<p>Coupled with this project is another to divert the course of the +Syr-Daria and make it an affluent of the Oxus. This last proposition +was half carried out two hundred years ago, and its completion would +not be difficult.</p> + +<p>By the first project, Russia would obtain a continuous water-way from +Nijne Novgorod on the Volga to Balkh on the Amoo-Daria, within two +hundred miles of British India. The second scheme carried out would +bring Tashkend and all Central Asia under commercial control, and have +a political effect of no secondary importance. A new route might thus +be opened to British India, and European civilization carried into a +region long occupied by semi-barbarian people. Afghanistan would be +relieved from its anarchy and brought under wholesome rule. The +geographical effect would doubtless be the drying up of the Aral sea. +A railway between Balkh and Delhi would complete an inland steam route +between St. Petersburg and Calcutta.</p> + +<p>Surveys have been ordered for a Central Asiatic Railway from Orenburg +or some point farther south, and it is quite possible that before many +years the locomotive will be shrieking over the Tartar steppes and +frightening the flocks and herds of the wandering Kalmacks and +Kirghese. A railway is in process of construction from the Black Sea +to the Caspian, and when this is completed, a line into Central Asia +is only a question of time.</p> + +<p>The Russians have an extensive trade with Central Asia. Goods are +transported on camels, the caravans coming in season for the fairs of +Irbit and Nijne Novgorod. The caravans from Bokhara proceed to +Troitska, (Lat. 54° N., Lon. 61° 20′ E.,) Petropavlovsk, (Lat. 54° 30′ +N., Lon. 69° E.,) and Orenburg, (Lat. 51° 46′ N., Lon. 55° 5′ E.) +There is also a considerable traffic to Sempolatinsk, (Lat. 50° 30′ +N., Lon. 80° E.) The Russian merchandise consists of metals, iron and +steel goods, beads, mirrors, cloths of various kinds, and a +miscellaneous lot “too numerous to mention.” Much of the country over +which these caravans travel is a succession of Asiatic steppes, with +occasional salt lakes and scanty supplies of fresh water.</p> + +<p>After passing the Altai mountains and outlying chains the routes are +quite monotonous. Fearful bourans are frequent, and in certain parts +of the route they take the form of sand storms. A Russian army on its +way to Khiva twenty-five years ago, was almost entirely destroyed in +one of these desert tempests. Occasionally the caravans suffer +severely.</p> + +<p>The merchandise from Bokhara includes raw cotton, sheepskins, rhubarb, +dried fruits, peltries, silk, and leather, with shawl goods of +different kinds. Cotton is an important product, and in the latter +part of my journey I saw large quantities going to Russian factories. +Three hundred years ago a German traveler in Russia wrote an account +of ‘a wonderful plant beyond the Caspian sea.’ “Veracious people,” +says the writer, “tell me that the <i>Borauez</i>, or sheep plant, grows +upon a stalk larger than my thumb; it has a head, eyes, and ears like +a sheep, but is without sensation. The natives use its wool for +various purposes.”</p> + +<p>I heard air interesting story of an adventure in which one of the +Kirghese, who was living among the Russians at the time of my visit to +Barnaool, played an important part. He was a fine looking fellow, +whose tribe lived between the Altai Mountains and Lake Ural, spending +the winters in the low lands and the summers in the valleys of the +foot-hills. He was the son of one of the patriarchs of the tribe, and +was captured, during a baranta or foray, by a chief who had long been +on hostile terms with his neighbors. The young man was held for +ransom, but the price demanded was more than his father could pay, and +so he remained in captivity.</p> + +<p>He managed to ingratiate himself with the chief of the tribe that +captured him, and as a mark of honor, and probably as an excuse for +the high ransom demanded, he was appointed to live in the chief’s +household. He was allowed to ride with the party when they moved, and +accompany the herdsmen; but a sharp watch was kept on his movements +whenever he was mounted, and care was taken that the horses he rode +were not very fleet. The chief had a daughter whom he expected to +marry to one of his powerful neighbors, and thereby secure a permanent +friendship between the tribes. She was a style of beauty highly prized +among the Asiatics, was quite at home on horseback, and understood all +the arts and accomplishments necessary to a Kirghese maiden of noble +blood. It is nothing marvelous that the young captive, Selim, should +become fond of the charming Acson, the daughter of his captor. His +fondness was reciprocated, but, like prudent lovers everywhere, they +concealed their feelings, and to the outer world preserved a most +indifferent exterior.</p> + +<p>Selim thought it best to elope, and broached his opinion to Acson, who +readily favored it. They concluded to make the attempt when the tribe +was moving to change its pasturage, and their absence would not be +noticed until they had several hours start and were many miles on +their way. They waited until the chief gave the order to move to +another locality, where the grass was better. Acson managed to leave +the tent in the night, under some frivolous pretext, and select two of +her father’s best horses, which she concealed in a grove not far away. +By previous arrangement she appeared sullen and indignant toward +Selim, who, mounted on a very sorry nag, set off with a party of men +that were driving a large herd of horses. The latter were +ungovernable, and the party became separated, so that it was easy for +Selim to drop out altogether and make his way to the grove where the +horses were concealed. In the same way Acson abandoned the party she +started with, and within an hour from the time they left the <i>aool</i>, +or encampment, the lovers met in the grove.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg539-1.gif' id='lg539-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE ELOPEMENT.</p></div> + +<p>It was a long way to Selim’s tribe, but he knew it was somewhere in +the mountains to the north and west, having left its winter quarters +in the low country. The pair said their prayers in the true Mahommedan +style, and then, mounting their horses, set out at an easy pace to +ascend the valley toward the higher land. Their horses were in +excellent condition, but they knew it would be necessary to ride hard +in case they were pursued, and they wished to reserve their strength +for the final effort. An hour before nightfall, they saw, far down the +valley, a party in pursuit. The party was riding rapidly, and from +appearances had not caught sight of the fugitives. After a brief +consultation the latter determined to turn aside at the first bend of +the valley, and endeavor to cross at the next stream, while leaving +the pursuers to go forward and be deceived.</p> + +<p>They turned aside, and were gratified to see from a place of +concealment the pursuing party proceed up the valley. The departure of +the fugitives was evidently known some time earlier than they +expected, else the pursuit would not have begun so soon. Guided by the +general course of the hills, the fugitives made their way to the next +valley, and, as the night had come upon them, they made a camp beneath +a shady tree, picketing their horses, and eating such provisions as +they had brought with them.</p> + +<p>In the morning, just as their steeds were saddled and they were +preparing to resume their journey, they saw their pursuers enter the +valley a mile or two below them, and move rapidly in their direction. +Evidently they had turned back after losing the track, and found it +without much delay. But their horses wore more weary than those of the +fleeing lovers, so that the latter were confident of winning the race.</p> + +<p>Swift was the flight and swift the pursuit. The valley was wide and +nearly straight, and the lovers steadily increased the distance +between them and their pursuers. They followed no path, but kept +steadily forward, with their faces toward the mountains. Their +pursuers, originally half a dozen, diminished to five, then to four, +and as the hours wore on Selim found that only two were in sight. But +a new obstacle arose to his escape.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg540-1.gif' id='lg540-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE FIGHT</p></div> + +<p>He knew that the valley he was ascending was abruptly enclosed in the +mountains, and escape would be difficult. Further to the east was a +more practicable one, and he determined to attempt to reach it. +Turning from the valley, he was followed by his two pursuers, who were +so close upon him that he determined to fight them. Acson had brought +away one of her father’s scimetars, and with this Selim prepared to do +battle. Finding a suitable place among the rocks, he concealed his +horses, and with Acson made a stand where he could fight to advantage. +He took his position on a rock just over the path his pursuers were +likely to follow, and watched his opportunity to hurl a stone, which +knocked one of them senseless. The other was dismounted by his horse +taking fright, and before he could regain his saddle, Selim was upon +him. A short hand-to-hand fight resulted in Selim’s favor.</p> + +<p>Leaving his adversaries upon the ground, one of them dead and the +other mortally wounded, Selim called Acson and returned to his horses. +Both the fugitives were thoroughly exhausted on reaching the valley, +and found to their dismay that a stream they were obliged to cross was +greatly swollen with recent rains in the mountains.</p> + +<p>They were anxious to put the stream between them and their remaining +pursuers, and after a brief halt they plunged in with their horses. +Selim crossed safely, his horse stemming the current and landing some +distance below the point where he entered the water. Acson was less +fortunate.</p> + +<p>While in the middle of the stream her horse stumbled upon a stone, and +sprang about so wildly as to throw her from the saddle. Grasping the +limb of a tree overhanging the water, she clung for a moment, but the +horse sweeping against her, tore the support from her hand. With a +loud cry to her terror-stricken lover, she sank beneath the waters and +was dashed against the rocks a hundred yards below.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg541-1.gif' id='lg541-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE CATASTROPHE.</p></div> + +<p>Day became night, the stars sparkled in the blue heavens; the moon +rose and took her course along the sky; the wind sighed among the +trees; morning tinged the eastern horizon, and the sun pushed above +it, while Selim paced the banks of the river and watched the waters +rolling, rolling, rolling, as they carried his heart’s idol away from +him forever, and it was not until night again approached that he +mounted his steed and rode away, heart-broken, and full of sadness. He +ultimately made his way to his own tribe, but years passed before he +recovered from the crushing weight of that blow; and when I saw him +there was still upon his countenance a deep shadow which will never be +removed. Such is the story of Selim and Acson. A more romantic one is +hardly to be found.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_542'></a> +<img src="images/sm542-1.gif" id='sm542-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLV'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLV.</h2></div> + + +<p>One morning while I was in Barnaool the doctor left me writing, and +went out for a promenade. In half an hour he returned accompanied by a +tall, well-formed man with a brunette complexion, and hair and +mustache black as ebony. His dress was Russian, but the face impressed +me as something strange.</p> + +<p>“Let me introduce you,” said the doctor, “to an officer of the Persian +army. He has been eight years from home, and would like to talk with +an American.”</p> + +<p>We shook hands, and by way of getting on familiar footing, I opened +my cigar case. Dr. Schmidt translated our conversation, the Persian +speaking Russian very fairly. His story was curious and interesting. +He was captured in 1858 near Herat, by a party of predatory Turcomans. +His captors sold him to a merchant at Balkh where he remained +sometime. From Balkh he was sold to Khiva, and from Khiva to Bokhara, +whence he escaped with a fellow captive. I asked if he was compelled +to labor during his captivity, and received a negative reply. Soldiers +and all others except officers are forced to all kinds of drudgery +when captured by these barbarians. Officers are held for ransom, and +their duties are comparatively light.</p> + +<p>Russian slaves are not uncommon in Central Asia, though less numerous +than formerly. The Kirghese cripple their prisoners by inserting a +horse hair in a wound in the heel. A man thus treated is lamed for +life. He cannot use his feet in escaping, and care is taken that he +does not secure a horse.</p> + +<p>The two fugitives traveled together from Bokhara, suffering great +hardships in their journey over the steppes. They avoided all towns +through fear of capture, and subsisted upon whatever chance threw in +their way. Once when near starvation they found and killed a sheep. +They ate heartily of its raw flesh, and before the supply thus +obtained was exhausted they reached the Russian boundary at Chuguchak. +One of the twain died soon afterward, and his companion in flight came +to Barnaool. The authorities would not let him go farther without a +passport, and he had been in the town nearly a year at the time of my +visit.</p> + +<p>Through the Persian ambassador at St. Petersburg, he had communicated, +with his government at Teheran, and expected his passport in a few +weeks.</p> + +<p>During the eight years that had elapsed since his capture this +gentleman heard nothing from his own country. He had learned to speak +Russian but could not read it. I told him of the completion of the +Indo-European telegraph by way of the Euphrates and the Persian Gulf, +and the success of electric communication between England and India. +Naturally he was less interested concerning the Atlantic cable than +about the telegraph in his own country. We shook hands at parting, and +mutually expressed a wish to meet again in Persia and America.</p> + +<p>After his departure, the doctor commented upon the intelligent bearing +and clear eye of the Persian, and then said:</p> + +<p>“I have done several strange and unexpected things in my life, but I +never dreamed I should be the interpreter between a Persian and an +American at the foot of the Altai mountains.”</p> + +<p>I met at Barnaool, a Prussian gentleman Mr. Radroff, who was sent to +Siberia by the Russian Academy of Science. He knew nearly all the +languages of Europe, and had spent some years in studying those of +Central Asia. He could converse and read in Chinese, Persian, and +Mongol, and I don’t know how many languages and dialects of lesser +note. His special mission was to collect information about the present +and past inhabitants of Central Asia, and in this endeavor he had +made explorations in the country of the Kirghese and beyond Lake +Balkask. He was preparing for a journey in 1867 to Kashgar.</p> + +<p>Mr. Radroff possessed many archaeological relics gathered in his +researches, and exhibited drawings of many tumuli. He had a curious +collection of spear heads, knives, swords, ornaments, stirrup irons, +and other souvenirs of ancient days. He discoursed upon the ages of +copper, gold, and iron, and told the probable antiquity of each +specimen he brought out. He gave me a spear head and a knife blade +taken from a burial mound in the Kirghese country. “You observe,” said +he, “they are of copper and were doubtless made before the discovery +of iron. They are probably three thousand years old, and may be more. +In these tumuli, copper is found much better preserved than iron, +though the latter is more recently buried.”</p> + +<p>At this gentleman’s house, I saw a Persian soldier who had been ten +years in captivity among the Turcomans, where he was beaten and forced +to the lowest drudgery, and often kept in chains. After long and +patient waiting he escaped and reached the Siberian boundary. Having +no passport, and unable to make himself understood, he was sent to +Barnaool and lodged in prison where he remained nearly two years! The +Persian officer above mentioned, heard of him by accident, and +procured his release. Mr. Radroff had taken the man as a house servant +and a teacher of the Persian language. I heard him read in a sonorous +voice several passages from the Koran. His face bore the marks of deep +suffering, and gave silent witness to the story of his terrible +captivity in the hands of the Turcomans. His incarceration at Barnaool +was referred to as an “unfortunate oversight.” Escaping from barbarian +slavery he fell into a civilized prison, and must have considered +Christian kindness more fanciful than real. He expected to accompany +his countryman on his return to Persia.</p> + +<p>The day before our departure, we were invited to a public dinner in +honor of our visit. It took place at the club rooms, the tables being +set in what was once the parquet of the theatre. The officials, from +General Freeze downward, were seated in the order of their rank, and +the post of honor was assigned to the two strangers. No ladies were +present, and the dinner, so far as its gastronomic features went, was +much like a dinner at Irkutsk or Kiachta.</p> + +<p>At the second course my attention was called to an excellent fish +peculiar to the Ob and Yenesei rivers. It is a species of salmon under +the name of Nalma, and ascends from the Arctic Ocean. Beef from the +Kirghese steppes elicited our praise, and so did game from the region +around Barnaool. At the end of the dinner I was ready to answer +affirmatively the inquiry, “all full inside?”</p> + +<p>At the appearance of the champagne, Colonel Taskin of the mining +engineers made a brief speech in English, and ended by proposing the +United States of America and the health of the American stranger. Dr. +Schmidt translated my response as well as my toast to the Russian +empire, and especially the inhabitants of Barnaool. The doctor was +then honored for his mammoth hunt, and made proper acknowledgment. +Then we had personal toasts and more champagne with Russian and +American music, and champagne again, and then we had some more +champagne and then some champagne.</p> + +<p>When the tables were removed, we had impromptu dancing to lively +music, including several Cossack dances, some familiar and others new +to me. There is one of these dances which usually commences by a woman +stepping into the centre of the room and holding a kerchief in her +right hand. Moving gracefully to the music, she passes around the +apartment, beckoning to one, hiding her face from another, +gesticulating with extended arms before a third, and skilfully +manipulating the kerchief all the while. When this sentimental +pantomime is ended, she selects a partner and waves the kerchief over +him. He pretends reluctance, but allows himself to be dragged to the +floor where the couple dance <i>en deux</i>. The dance includes a great +deal of entreaty, aversion, hope, and despair, all in dumb show, and +ends by the lady being led to a seat. I saw this dance introduced in +a ballet at the Grand Theatre in Moscow, and wondered why it never +appeared on the stage outside the Russian empire.</p> + +<p>One of the gentlemen who danced admirably had recovered the use of his +legs two years before, after being unable to walk no less than +twenty-eight years. He declared himself determined to make up for lost +time, and when I left the hall, he continued entertaining himself.</p> + +<p>During the dancing, a party gathered around where I stood and I +observed that every lady was assembling as if to witness some fun. “Be +on your watch,” a friend whispered, “they are going to give you the +<i>polkedovate</i>.”</p> + +<p>The <i>polkedovate</i> is nothing more nor less than a tossing up at the +hands of a dozen or twenty Russians. It has the effect of intoxicating +a sober man, but I never heard that it sobered a drunken one. Major +Collins was elevated in this way at Kiachta, and declares that the +effect, added to the champagne he had previously taken, was not at all +satisfactory. Remembering his experience, and fearing I might go too +high or come too low, I was glad when a diversion was made in my favor +by a gentleman coming to bid me good night.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg547-1.gif' id='lg547-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE POLKEDOVATE.</p></div> + +<p>The custom of tossing up a guest is less prevalent in Siberia than ten +or twenty years ago. It was formerly a mark of high respect, but I +presume few who were thus honored would have hesitated to forego the +distinguished courtesy.</p> + +<p>One of the gentlemen I met at dinner had a passion for trotting +horses. He asked me many questions about the famous race horses in +America, from Lady Suffolk down to the latest two-twenties. I answered +to the best of my abilities, but truth required me to say I was not +authority in equine matters. The gentleman treated me to a display of +trotting by a Siberian horse five years old, and carefully trained. I +forget the exact figures he gave me, but believe they were something +like two-thirty to the mile. To my unhorsy eye, the animal was pretty, +and well formed, and I doubt not he would have acquitted himself +finely on the Bloomingdale Road. The best horses in Siberia are +generally from European Russia, the Siberian climate being unfavorable +to careful breeding. Kirghese horses are excellent under the saddle, +but not well reputed for draught purposes.</p> + +<p>I gave out some washing at Barnaool, and accidentally included a paper +collar in the lot. When the laundress returned the linen, she +explained with much sorrow the dissolution of the collar when she +attempted to wash it. I presume it was the first of its kind that ever +reached the Altai mountains.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm548-1.gif' id='sm548-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>MAKING EXPLANATION.</p></div> + +<p>We arranged to leave Barnaool at the conclusion of the dinner at the +club room. First we proceeded to the house of Colonel Taskin where we +took ‘positively the last’ glass of champagne. Our preparations at our +lodgings were soon completed, and the baggage carefully stowed. A +party of our acquaintances assembled to witness our departure, and +pass through a round of kissing as the yemshick uttered ‘gotovey.’ +They did not make an end of hand-shaking until we were wrapped and +bundled into the sleigh.</p> + +<p>It was a keen, frosty night with the stars twinkling in the clear +heavens as we drove outside the yard of our hotel. Horses, driver, and +travelers were alike exhilarated in the sharp atmosphere and we dashed +off at courier pace. The driver was a musical fellow, and endeavored +to sing a Russian ballad while we were galloping over the glistening +snow.</p> + +<p>We had a long ride before us. The wide steppe of Baraba, or +Barabinsky, lies between Barnaool and the foot of the Ural mountains. +There was no town where we expected to stop before reaching Tumen, +fifteen hundred versts away. As the luxuries of life are not abundant +on this road we stored our sleighs with provisions, and hoped to add +bread and eggs at the stations. Our farewell dinner was considered a +sufficient preparation for at least a hundred and fifty versts. I +nestled down among the furs and hay which formed my bed, leaned back +upon the pillows and exposed only a few square inches of visage to the +nipping and eager air.</p> + +<p>A few versts from town we stuck upon an icy bank where the smooth feet +of our horses could not obtain holding ground. After a while we +attached one horse to a long rope, and enabled him to pull from the +level snow above the bank. I expected the yemshick would ask us to +lighten the sleigh by stepping out of it. An American driver would +have put us ashore without ceremony, but custom is otherwise in +Siberia. Horses and driver are engaged to take the vehicle and its +burden to the next station, and it is the traveler’s privilege to +remain in his place in any emergency short of an overturn.</p> + +<p>The track was excellent, having been well trodden since the storm. We +followed our former road a hundred versts from Barnaool, and then +turned to the left to strike the great post route near Kansk. It was +necessary to cross the river Ob, and as we reached the station near it +during the night, we waited for daylight. The ice was sufficiently +thick and firm, but the danger arose from holes and thin places that +could not be readily discovered in the dark. While crossing we met a +peasant who had tumbled into one of these holes, and been fished out +by his friends. He looked unhappy, and no doubt felt so. His garments +were frozen stiff, and altogether he resembled a bronze statue of +Franklin after a freezing rain storm.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<img src='images/lg550-1.gif' id='lg550-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>AFTER THE BATH.</p></div> + +<p>The thermometer fell on the first night to fifteen degrees below zero, +and to about -20° just before sunrise. The colder it grew the better +was our speed, the horses feeling the crisp air and the driver being +anxious to complete his stage in the least time possible. With uniform +roads and teams one can judge pretty fairly of the temperature by the +rate at which he travels. From Barnaool we did not have the horses of +the post, but engaged our first troikas of a peasant who offered his +services. Our yemshick took us to his friend at the first station, and +this operation was regularly repeated. Occasionally our two yemshicks +had different friends, and our sleighs were separately out-fitted. +When this was the case the teams were speedily attached out of a +spirit of rivalry. We frequently endeavored to excite the yemshicks to +the noble ambition of a race by offering a few copecks to the winner. +When the teams were furnished from different houses the temper of +emulation roused itself spontaneously.</p> + +<p>Twice we left the post route to make short cuts that saved thirty or +forty miles travel. On those side roads we found plenty of horses, +and were promptly served. The inhabitants of the steppe are delighted +at the opportunity to carry travelers at post rates. The latter are +saved the trouble of exhibiting their <i>padarashnia</i> at every station, +and generally prefer to employ private teams. The horses were small, +wiry beasts of Tartar breed, and utter strangers to combs and brushes.</p> + +<p>While at breakfast on the second morning we were accosted by an old +and decrepid beggar. The fellow wore a decoration consisting of a box +six or seven inches square, suspended on his breast by a strap around +his neck. Though seedy enough to set up business on his own account, +he explained that he was begging for the church. His honesty was +evidently in question as the box was firmly locked and had an aperture +in the top for receiving money. We each gave ten copecks into his +hand, and I observed that he did not drop the gratuity into the box. I +was reminded of the man who owed a grudge against a railroad line, and +declared that the company should never have another cent of his money. +A friend asked how he would prevent it, as he frequently traveled over +the road.</p> + +<p>“Easy enough,” was the calm reply, “I shall hereafter pay my fare to +the conductor.”</p> + +<p>The morning after reaching Barnaool, I had a fine twinge of rheumatism +that adhered during my stay. Quite to my surprise it left me on the +second day after our departure, and like the bad boy in the story +never came back again. The medical faculty can have the benefit of my +experience, and prescribe as follows for their rheumatic patients.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>“st. nt. o. lg. sl. S. r. = ther. - z<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>“Start at night on a long sleigh ride over a Siberian road with the +thermometer below zero.”</p> + +<p>A bouran arose in the afternoon of the second day, but was neither +violent nor very cold. At Barnaool I had my sleigh specially prepared +to exclude drifting snow. I ordered a liberal supply of buttons and +straps to fasten the boot to the hood, besides an overlapping flap of +thick felt to cover the crevice between them. The precaution was well +taken, and with our doors thoroughly closed we were not troubled with +much snow. The drivers were exposed on the outside of the sleigh, and +had the full benefit of the wind. At the end of the first drive after +this storm commenced our yemshick might have passed for an animated +snow statue. The road was tolerable, and a great improvement upon that +from Krasnoyarsk to Tomsk.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_552'></a> +<img src="images/sm552-1.gif" id='sm552-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLVI'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLVI.</h2></div> + + +<p>The great steppe of Baraba is quite monotonous, as there is very +little change of scenery in traveling over it. Whoever has been south +or west from Chicago, or west from Leavenworth, in winter, can form a +very good idea of the steppe. The winter appearance is much like that +of a western prairie covered with snow. Whether there is equal +similarity in summer I am unable to say. The country is flat or +slightly undulating, and has a scanty growth of timber. Sometimes +there were many versts without trees, then there would be a scattered +and straggling display of birches, and again the growth was dense +enough to be called a forest. The principal arboreal productions are +birches, and I found the houses, sheds, and fences in most of the +villages constructed of birch timber. The open part of the steppe, far +more extensive than the wooded portion, was evidently favorable to the +growth of grass, as I saw a great deal protruding above the snow. +There are many marshy and boggy places, covered in summer with a dense +growth of reeds. They are a serious inconvenience to the traveler on +account of the swarms of mosquitoes, gnats, and other tormenting +insects that they produce.</p> + +<p>While crossing the Baraba swamps in summer, men and women are obliged +to wear veils as a protection against these pests. Horses are +sometimes killed by their bites, and frequently became thin in flesh +from the constant annoyance. A gentleman told me that once when +crossing the swamps one of his horses, maddened by the insects, broke +from the carriage and fled out of sight among the tall reeds. The +yemshicks, who knew the locality, said the animal would certainly be +killed by his winged pursuers in less than twenty-four hours.</p> + +<p>There is much game on the steppe in summer, birds being more numerous +than beasts. The only winter game we saw was the white partridge, +(<i>kurupatki</i>,) of which we secured several specimens.</p> + +<p>The steppe is fertile, and in everything the soil can produce the +people are wealthy. They have wheat, rye, and oats in abundance, but +pay little attention to garden vegetables. In 1866 the crops were +small in all parts of Siberia west of Lake Baikal, and I frequently +heard the peasants complaining of high prices. They said such a season +was almost unprecedented. On the steppe oats were forty copecks, and +wheat and rye seventy copecks a pood; equaling about thirty cents and +seventy-five cents a bushel respectively. In some years wheat has been +sold for ten copecks the pood, and other products at proportionate +prices. We paid twelve copecks the dizaine for eggs, which frequently +sell for one-third that sum.</p> + +<p>The fertility of the soil cannot be turned to great account, as there +is no general market. Men and horses engaged in the transportation and +postal service create a limited demand, but there is little sale +beyond this. With so small a market there are very few rich +inhabitants on the steppe; and with edibles at a cheap rate, there are +few cases of extreme poverty. We rarely saw beggars, and on the other +hand we found nobody who was able to dress in broadcloth and fine +linen and fare sumptuously every day.</p> + +<p>Hay is abundant, and may be cut on any unclaimed part of the steppe. I +was told that in some places the farmers of a village assemble on +horseback at an appointed time. At a given signal all start for the +haying spots, and the first arrival has the first choice. There is +enough for all, and in ordinary seasons no grass less than knee high +is considered worth cutting.</p> + +<p>At the villages we generally obtained excellent bread of unbolted +wheat flour, rye being rarely used. There were many windmills of +clumsy construction, the wheels having but four wings, and the whole +concern turning on a pivot to bring its face to the wind. No bolting +apparatus has been introduced, and the machinery is of the simplest +and most primitive character. It was a period of fasting, just before +Christmas, and our whole obtainable bill of fare comprised bread and +eggs. As we reached a certain station we asked what we could get to +eat.</p> + +<p>“Everything,” was the prompt reply of the smotretal. We were hungry, +and this information was cheering.</p> + +<p>“Give us some <i>schee</i>, if you please,” said the doctor.</p> + +<p>An inquiry in the kitchen showed this edible to be ‘just out.’</p> + +<p>“Some beef, then?”</p> + +<p>There was no beef to be had. Cutlets were alike negatived.</p> + +<p>“Any pilmania?” was our next inquiry.</p> + +<p>“<i>Nierte; nizniu</i>.”</p> + +<p>The ‘everything’ hunted down consisted of eggs, bread, and hot water. +We brought out a boiled ham, that was generally our <i>piece de +resistance</i>, and made a royal meal. If <i>trichina spiralis</i> existed in +Siberian ham, it was never able to disturb us. We found no fruit as +there are no orchards in Siberia. Attempts have been made to cultivate +fruit, but none have succeeded. A little production about the size of +a whortleberry was shown me in Eastern Siberia, where it was pickled +and served up as a relish with meat. “This is the Siberian apple,” +said the gentleman who first exhibited it, “and it has degenerated to +what you see since its introduction from Europe.” On dissecting one of +these little berries, I found it possessed the anatomy of the apple, +with seeds smaller than pin-heads.</p> + +<p>Kotzebue and other travelers say there are no bees in Siberia, but the +assertion is incorrect. I saw native honey enough to convince me on +this point, and learned that bees are successfully raised in the +southern part of Asiatic Russia.</p> + +<p>We were not greatly delayed in our team changing, though we lost +several hours in small instalments. We had two sleighs, and although +there were anywhere up to a dozen men to prepare them, the harnessing +of one team was generally completed before the other was led out. When +the horses were ready, the driver often went to fetch his dehar and +make his toilet. In this way we would lose five or ten minutes, a +small matter by itself, but a large one when under heavy +multiplication.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg556-1.gif' id='lg556-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE DRIVER’S TOILET.</p></div> + +<p>We took breakfast and dinner daily in the peasants’ houses, which we +found very much like the stations. We carried our own tea and sugar, +and with a fair supply of provisions, added what we could obtain. Tea +was the great solace of the journey, and proved, above all others, the +beverage which cheers. I could swallow several cups at a sitting, and +never failed to find myself refreshed. It is far better than vodki or +brandy for traveling purposes, and many Russians who are pretty free +drinkers at home adhere quite closely to tea on the road. The merchant +traveler drinks enormous quantities, and I have seen a couple of these +worthies empty a twenty cup samovar with no appearance of surfeit. So +much hot liquid inside generally sets them into a perspiration. +Nothing but loaf sugar is used, and there is a very common practice of +holding a lump in one hand and following a sip of the unsweetened tea +with a nibble at the sugar. When several persons are engaged in this +rasping process a curious sound is produced.</p> + +<p>There are many Tartars living on the steppe, but we saw very little of +them, as our changes were made at the Russian villages. Before the +reign of Catherine II. there was but a small population between Tumen +and Tomsk, and the road was more a fiction than a fact. The Governor +General of Siberia persuaded Catherine to let him have all conscripts +of one levy instead of sending them to the army. He settled them in +villages along the route over the steppe, and the wisdom of his policy +was very soon apparent. The present population is made up of the +descendants of these and other early settlers, together with exiles +and voluntary emigrants of the present century. Several villages have +a bad reputation, and I heard stories of robbery and murder. In +general the dwellers on the steppe are reputable, and they certainly +impressed me favorably.</p> + +<p>I was told by a Russian that Catherine once thought of giving the +Siberians a constitution somewhat like that of the United States of +America, but was dissuaded from so doing by one of her ministers.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg557-1.gif' id='lg557-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>WOMEN SPINNING.</p></div> + +<p>The villages were generally built each in a single street, or at most, +in two streets. The largest houses had yards, or enclosures, into +which we drove when stopping for breakfast or dinner. The best windows +were of glass or talc, fixed in frames, and generally made double. The +poorer peasants contented themselves with windows of ox or cow +stomachs, scraped thin and stretched in drying. There were no iron +stoves In any house I visited, the Russian <i>peitcha</i> or brick stove +being universal. Very often we found the women and girls engaged in +spinning. No wheel is used for this purpose, the entire apparatus +being a hand spindle and a piece of board. The flax is fastened on an +upright board, and the fingers of the left hand gather the fibres and +begin the formation of a thread. The right hand twirls the spindle, +and by skillful manipulation a good thread is formed with considerable +rapidity.</p> + +<p>A great deal of hemp and flax is raised upon the steppe, and we found +rope abundant, cheap, and good. I bought ten fathoms of half-inch rope +for forty copecks, a peasant bringing it to a house where we +breakfasted. When I paid for it the mistress of the house quietly +appropriated ten copecks, remarking that the rope maker owed her that +amount. She talked louder and more continuously than any other woman I +met in Siberia, and awakened my wonder by going barefooted into an +open shed and remaining there several minutes. She stood in snow and +on ice, but appeared quite unconcerned. Our thermometer at the time +showed a temperature of 21° below zero.</p> + +<p>The only city on the steppe is Omsk, at the junction of the Om and +Irtish, and the capital of Western Siberia. It is said to contain +twelve thousand inhabitants, and its buildings are generally well +constructed. We did not follow the post route through Omsk, but took a +cut-off that carried us to the northward and saved a hundred versts of +sleigh riding. The city was founded in order to have a capital in the +vicinity of the Kirghese frontier, but since its construction the +frontier line has removed far away.</p> + +<p>In 1834 a conspiracy, extending widely through Siberia, was organized +at Omsk. M. Piotrowski gives an account of it, from which I abridge +the following:</p> + +<p>It was planned by the Abbe Sierosiuski, a Polish Catholic priest who +had been exiled for taking part in the rebellion of 1831. He was sent +to serve in the ranks of a Cossack regiment in Western Siberia, and +after a brief period of military duty was appointed teacher in the +military school at Omsk. His position gave him opportunity to project +a rebellion. His plan was well laid, and found ready supporters among +other exiles, especially the Poles. Some ambitious Russians and +Tartars were in the secret. The object was to secure the complete +independence of Siberia and the release of all prisoners. In the event +of failure it was determined to march over the Kirghese steppes to +Tashkend, and attempt to reach British India.</p> + +<p>Everything was arranged, both in Eastern and Western Siberia. The +revolt was to begin at Omsk, where most of the conspirators were +stationed, and where there was an abundance of arms, ammunition, +supplies, and money. The evening before the day appointed for the +rising, the plot was revealed by three Polish soldiers, who confessed +all they knew to Colonel Degrave, the governor of Omsk. Sierosiuski +and his fellow conspirators in the city were at once arrested, and +orders were despatched over the whole country to secure all +accomplices and suspected persons. About a thousand arrests were made, +and as soon as news of the affair reached St. Petersburg, a commission +of inquiry was appointed. The investigations lasted until 1837, when +they were concluded and the sentences confirmed.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg559-1.gif' id='lg559-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FLOGGING WITH STICKS.</p></div> + +<p>Six principal offenders, including the chief, were each condemned to +seven thousand blows of the <i>plette</i>, or stick, while walking the +gauntlet between two files of soldiers. This is equivalent to a death +sentence, as very few men can survive more than four thousand blows. +Only one of the six outlived the day when the punishment was +inflicted, some falling dead before the full number of strokes had +been given. The minor offenders were variously sentenced, according to +the extent of their guilt, flogging with the stick being followed by +penal colonization or military service in distant garrisons.</p> + +<p>It is said that the priest Sierosiuski while undergoing his punishment +recited in a clear voice the Latin prayer, “Misere mei, Deus, secundum +magnam misericordium tuam.”</p> + +<p>On approaching the Irtish we found it bordered by hills which +presented steep banks toward the river. The opposite bank was low and +quite level. It is a peculiarity of most rivers in Russia that the +right banks rise into bluffs, while the opposite shores are low and +flat. The Volga is a fine example of this, all the way from Tver to +Astrachan, and the same feature is observable in most of the Siberian +streams that reach the Arctic Ocean. Various conjectures account for +it, but none are satisfactory to scientific men.</p> + +<p>Steamboats have ascended to Omsk, but there is not sufficient traffic +to make regular navigation profitable. We crossed the Irtish two +hundred and seventy versts south of Tobolsk, a city familiar to +American readers from its connection with the “Story of Elizabeth.” +The great road formerly passed through Tobolsk, and was changed when a +survey of the country showed that two hundred versts might be saved. +Formerly all exiles to Siberia were first sent to that city, where a +“Commission of Transportation” held constant session. From Tobolsk the +prisoners were told off to the different governments, provinces, +districts, and ‘circles,’ and assigned to the penalties prescribed by +their sentences.</p> + +<p>Many prominent exiles have lived in the northern part of the +government of Tobolsk, especially at Beresov on the river Ob. +Menshikoff, a favorite of Peter the Great, died there in exile, and so +did the Prince Dolgorouki and the count Osterman. It is said the body +of Menshikoff was buried in the frozen earth at Beresov, and found +perfectly preserved a hundred years after its interment. In that +region the ground never thaws more than a foot or two from the +surface; below to an unknown depth it is hardened by perpetual frost. +Many Poles have been involuntary residents of this region, and +contributed to the development of its few resources.</p> + +<p>North of Tobolsk, the Ostiaks are the principal aboriginals, and +frequently wander as far south as Omsk. Before the Russian occupation +of Siberia the natives carried on a trade with the Tartars of Central +Asia, and the abundance and cheapness of their furs made them +attractive customers. Marco Polo mentions a people “in the dark +regions of the North, who employ dogs to draw their sledges, and trade +with the merchants from Bokhara.” There is little doubt he referred to +the Ostiaks and Samoyedes.</p> + +<p>A Polish lady exiled to Beresov in 1839, described in her journal her +sensation at seeing a herd of tame bears driven through the streets to +the market place, just as cattle are driven elsewhere. She records +that while descending the Irtish she had the misfortune to fall +overboard. The soldier escorting her was in great alarm, at the +accident, and fairly wept for joy when she was rescued. He explained +through his tears that her death would have been a serious calamity to +him.</p> + +<p>“I shall be severely punished,” he said, “if any harm befalls you, +and, for my sake, I hope you won’t try to drown yourself, but will +keep alive and well till I get rid of you.”</p> + +<p>Tobolsk is on the site of the Tartar settlement of Sibeer, from which +the name of Siberia is derived. In the days of Genghis Khan northern +Asia was overrun and wrested from its aboriginal inhabitants. Tartar +supremacy was undisputed until near the close of the sixteenth +century, when the Tartars lost Kazan and everything else west of the +Urals. During the reign of Ivan the Cruel, a difficulty arose between +the Czar and some of the Don Cossacks, and, as the Czar did not choose +to emigrate, the Cossacks left their country for their country’s good. +Headed by one Yermak, they retired to the vicinity of the Ural +mountains, where they started a marauding business with limited +liability and restricted capital. Crossing the Urals, Yermak +subjugated the country west of the Irtish and founded a fortress on +the site of Sibeer. He overpowered all the Tartars in his vicinity, +and received a pardon for himself and men in return for his conquest. +The czar, as a mark of special fondness, sent Yermak a suit of armor +from his own wardrobe. Yermak went one day to dine with some Tartar +chiefs, and was arrayed for the first time in his new store clothes. +One tradition says he was treacherously killed by the Tartars on this +occasion, and thrown in the river. Another story says he fell in by +accident, and the weight of his armor drowned him. A monument at +Tobolsk commemorates his deeds.</p> + +<p>No leader rose to fill Yermak’s place, and the Russians became divided +into several independent bands. They had the good sense not to +quarrel, and remained firm in the pursuit of conquest. They pushed +eastward from the Irtish and founded Tomsk in 1604. Ten years later +the Tartars united and attempted to expel the Russians. They +surrounded Tomsk and besieged it for a long time. Russia was then +distracted by civil commotions and the war with the Poles, and could +not assist the Cossacks. The latter held out with great bravery, and +at length gained a decisive victory. From that time the Tartars made +no serious and organized resistance.</p> + +<p>Subsequent expeditions for Siberian conquest generally originated at +Tomsk. Cossacks pushed to the north, south, and east, forming +settlements in the valley of the Yenesei and among the Yakuts of the +Lena. In 1639 they reached the shores of the Ohotsk sea, and took +possession of all Eastern Siberia to the Aldan mountains.</p> + +<p>I believe history has no parallel to some features of this conquest. A +robber-chieftain with a few hundred followers,—himself and his men +under ban, and, literally, the first exiles to Siberia—passes from +Europe to Asia. In seventy years these Cossacks and their descendants, +with, little aid from others, conquered a region containing nearly +five million square miles. Everywhere displaying a spirit of adventure +and determined bravery, they reduced the Tartars to the most perfect +submission. The cost of their expeditions was entirely borne by +individuals who sought remuneration in the lucrative trade they +opened. The captured territory became Russian, though the government +had neither paid for nor controlled the conquest.</p> + +<p>I saw the portrait and bust of Yermak, but no one could assure me of +their fidelity. The face was thoroughly Russian, and the lines of +character were such as one might expect from the history of the man. +He was represented in the suit of armor he wore at his death.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_563'></a> +<img src="images/sm563-1.gif" id='sm563-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLVII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLVII.</h2></div> + + +<p>The evening after we passed the Irtish, a severe bouran arose. As the +night advanced the wind increased. The road was filled and apparently +obliterated. The yemshicks found it difficult to keep the track, and +frequently descended to look for it. Each interval of search was a +little longer than the preceding one, so that we passed considerable +time in impatient waiting. About midnight we reached a station, where +we were urged to rest until morning, the people declaring it unsafe to +proceed. A slight lull in the storm decided us and the yemshicks to go +forward, but as we set out from the station it seemed like driving +into the spray at the foot of Niagara. Midway between the station, we +wandered from the route and appeared hopelessly lost, with the +prospect of waiting until morning.</p> + +<p>Just before nightfall, we saw three wolves on the steppe, pointing +their sharp noses in our direction, and apparently estimating how many +dinners our horses would make. Whether they took the mammoth into +account I cannot say, but presume he was not considered. Wolves are +numerous in all Siberia, and are not admired by the biped inhabitants. +When our road seemed utterly lost, and our chances good for a bivouac +in the steppe, we heard a dismal howl in a momentary lull of the wind.</p> + +<p>“VOLK,” (wolf,) said the yemshick, who was clearing away the snow near +the sleigh.</p> + +<p>Again we heard the sound, and saw the horses lift their ears uneasily.</p> + +<p>An instant later the fury of the wind returned. The snow whirled in +dense clouds, and the roaring of the tempest drowned all other sounds. +Had there been fifty howling wolves, within a hundred yards of us, we +could have known nothing until they burst upon us through the curtain +of drifting snow.</p> + +<p>It was a time of suspense. I prepared to throw off my outer garments +in case we were attacked, and roused the doctor, who had been some +time asleep. At the cry of “wolf,” he was very soon awake, though he +did not lose that calm serenity that always distinguished him. The +yemshicks continued their search for the road, one of them keeping +near the sleigh and the other walking in circles in the vicinity. Our +position was not enviable.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg565-1.gif' id='xlg565-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>LOST IN A SNOW STORM.</p></div> + +<p>To be served up <i>au natural</i> to the lupine race was never my ambition, +and I would have given a small sum, in cash or approved paper, for a +sudden transportation to the Astor House, but with my weight and +substance, all the more desirable to the wolves, a change of base was +not practicable. Our only fire-arms were a shot-gun and a pistol, the +latter unserviceable, and packed in the doctor’s valise. Of course the +wolves would first eat the horses, and reserve us for dessert. We +should have felt, during the preliminaries, much like those unhappy +persons, in the French revolution, who were last in a batch of victims +to the guillotine.</p> + +<p>After long delay the road was discovered, and as the wolves did not +come we proceeded. We listened anxiously for the renewal of their +howling, but our ears did not catch the unwelcome sound. The doctor +exhibited no alarm. As he was an old traveler, I concluded to follow +his example, and go to sleep.</p> + +<p>In ordinary seasons wolves are not dangerous to men, though they +commit more or less havoc among live stock. Sheep and pigs are their +favorite prey, as they are easily captured, and do not resist. Horses +and cattle are overpowered by wolves acting in packs; the hungry +brutes displaying considerable strategy. A gentleman told me he once +watched a dozen wolves attacking a powerful bull. Some worried him in +front and secured his attention while others attempted to cut his +ham-strings. The effort was repeated several times, the wolves +relieving each other in exposed positions. At length the bull was +crippled and the first part of the struggle gained. The wolves began +to lick their chops in anticipation of a meal, and continued to worry +their expected prey up to the pitch of exhaustion. The gentleman shot +two of them and drove the others into the forest. He could do no more +than put the bull out of his misery. On departing he looked back and +saw the wolves returning to their now ready feast.</p> + +<p>The best parts of Russia for wolf-hunting are in the western +governments, where there is less game and more population than in +Siberia. It is in these regions that travelers are sometimes pursued +by wolves, but such incidents are not frequent. It is only in the +severest winters, when driven to desperation by hunger, that the +wolves dare to attack men. The horses are the real objects of their +pursuit, but when once a party is overtaken the wolves make no nice +distinctions, and horses and men are alike devoured. Apropos of +hunting I heard a story of a thrilling character.</p> + +<p>“It had been,” said the gentleman who narrated the incident, “a severe +winter in Vitebsk and Vilna. I had spent several weeks at the country +residence of a friend in Vitebsk, and we heard, during the latter part +of my stay, rumors of the unusual ferocity of the wolves.</p> + +<p>“One day Kanchin, my host, proposed a wolf-hunt. ‘We shall have capital +sport,’ said he, ‘for the winter has made the wolves hungry, and they +will be on the alert when they hear our decoy.’</p> + +<p>“We prepared a sledge, one of the common kind, made of stout withes, +woven like basket-work, and firmly fastened to the frame and runners. +It was wide enough for both of us and the same height all around so +that we could shoot in any direction except straight forward. We took +a few furs to keep us warm, and each had a short gun of large bore, +capable of carrying a heavy load of buck-shot. Rifles are not +desirable weapons where one cannot take accurate aim. As a precaution +we stowed two extra guns in the bottom of the sledge.</p> + +<p>“The driver, Ivan, on learning the business before him, was evidently +reluctant to go, but as a Russian servant has no choice beyond obeying +his master, the man offered no objection. Three spirited horses were +attached, and I heard Kanchin order that every part of the harness +should be in the best condition.</p> + +<p>“We had a pig confined in a strong cage of ropes and withes, that he +might last longer than if dragged by the legs. A rope ten feet long +was attached to the cage and ready to be tied to the sledge.</p> + +<p>“We kept the pig in furs at the bottom of the sledge, and drove +silently into the forest. The last order given by Kanchin was to open +the gates of the courtyard and hang a bright lantern in front. I asked +the reason of this, and he replied with a smile: ‘If we should be +going at full speed on our return, I don’t wish to stop till we reach +the middle of the yard.’</p> + +<p>“As by mutual consent neither uttered a word as we drove along. We +carried no bells, and there was no creaking of any part of the sledge. +Ivan did not speak but held his reins taut and allowed the horses to +take their own pace. In his secure and warm covering the pig was +evidently asleep. The moon and stars were perfectly unclouded, and +there was no motion of anything in the forest. The road was excellent, +but we did not meet or pass a single traveler. I do not believe I ever +<i>felt</i> silence more forcibly than then.</p> + +<p>“The forest in that region is not dense, and on either side of the road +there is a space of a hundred yards or more entirely open. The snow +lay crisp and sparkling, and as the country was but slightly +undulating we could frequently see long distances. The apparent +movement of the trees as we drove past them caused me to fancy the +woods rilled with animate forms to whom the breeze gave voices that +mocked us.</p> + +<p>“About eight versts from the house we reached a cross road that led +deeper into the forest. ‘<i>Naprava,</i>’ in a low voice from my companion +turned us to the right into the road. Eight or ten versts further +Kanchin, in the same low tone, commanded ‘<i>Stoi.</i>’ Without a word Ivan +drew harder upon his reins, and we came to a halt. At a gesture from +my friend the team was turned about.</p> + +<p>“Kanchin stepped carefully from the sledge and asked me to hand him the +rope attached to the cage. He tied this to the rear cross-bar, and +removing his cloak told me to do the same. Getting our guns, +ammunition, and ourselves in readiness, and taking our seats with our +backs toward the driver, we threw out the pig and his cage and ordered +Ivan to proceed.</p> + +<p>“The first cry from the pig awoke an answering howl in a dozen +directions. The horses sprang as if struck with a heavy hand, and I +felt my blood chill at the dismal sound. The driver with great +difficulty kept his team from breaking into a gallop. Five minutes +later, a wolf came galloping from the forest on the left side where I +sat.</p> + +<p>“‘Don’t fire till he is quite near,’ said Kanchin, ‘we shall have no +occasion to make long shots.’</p> + +<p>“The wolf was distinctly visible on the clean snow, and I allowed him +to approach within twenty yards. I fired, and he fell. As I turned to +re-load Kanchin raised his gun to shoot a wolf approaching the right +of the sledge. His shot was successful, the wolf falling dead upon the +snow.</p> + +<p>“I re-loaded very quickly, and when I looked up there were three wolves +running toward me, while as many more were visible on Kanchin’s side. +My companion raised his eyes when his gun was ready and gave a start +that thrilled me with horror. Ivan was immovable in his place, and +holding with all his might upon the reins.</p> + +<p>“‘<i>Poshol!</i>’ shouted Kanchin.</p> + +<p>“The howling grew more terrific. Whatever way we looked we could see +the wolves emerging from the forest;</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>“‘With their long gallop, which can tire,<br /></span> +<span> The hounds’ deep hate, the hunter’s fire.’<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>“Not only behind and on either side but away to the front, I could see +their dark forms. We fired and loaded and fired again, every shot +telling but not availing to stop the pursuit.</p> + +<p>“The driver did not need Kanchin’s shout of ‘<i>poshol</i>!’ and the horses +exerted every nerve without being urged. But with all our speed we +could not outstrip the wolves that grew every moment more numerous. If +we could only keep up our pace we might escape, but should a horse +stumble, the harness give way, or the sledge overturn, we were +hopelessly lost. We threw away our furs and cloaks keeping only our +arms and ammunition. The wolves hardly paused over these things but +steadily adhered to the pursuit.</p> + +<p>“Suddenly I thought of a new danger that menaced us. I grasped +Kanchin’s arm and asked how we could turn the corner into the main +road. Should we attempt it at full speed the sledge would be +overturned. If we slackened our pace the wolves would be upon us.</p> + +<p>“I felt my friend trembling in my grasp but his voice was firm.</p> + +<p>“‘When I say the word,’ he replied, giving me his hunting knife, ‘lean +over and cut the rope of the decoy. That will detain them a short +time. Soon as you have done so lie down on the left side of the sledge +and cling to the cords across the bottom.’</p> + +<p>“Then turning to Ivan he ordered him to slacken speed a little, but +only a little, at the corner, and keep the horses from running to +either side as he turned. This done Kanchin clung to the left side of +the sledge prepared to step upon its fender and counteract, if +possible, our centrifugal force.</p> + +<p>“We approached the main road, and just as I discovered the open space +at the crossing Kanchin shouted,—</p> + +<p>“‘Strike!’</p> + +<p>“I whipped off the rope in an instant and we left our decoy behind us. +The wolves stopped, gathered densely about the prize, and began +quarreling over it. Only a few remained to tear the cage asunder. The +rest, after a brief halt, continued the pursuit, but the little time +they lost was of precious value to us.</p> + +<p>“We approached the dreaded turning. Kanchin placed his feet upon the +fender and fastened his hands into the net-work of the sledge. I lay +down in the place assigned me, and never did drowning man cling to a +rope more firmly than I clung to the bottom of our vehicle. As we +swept around the corner the sledge was whirled in air, turned upon its +side and only saved from complete oversetting by the positions of +Kanchin and myself.</p> + +<p>“Just as the sledge righted, and ran upon both runners, I heard a +piercing cry. Ivan, occupied with his horses, was not able to cling +like ourselves; he fell from his seat, and hardly struck the snow +before the wolves were upon him. That one shriek that filled my ears +was all he could utter. The reins were trailing, but fortunately +where they were not likely to be entangled. The horses needed no +driver; all the whips in the world could not increase their speed. Two +of our guns wore lost as we turned from the by-road, but the two that +lay under me in the sledge were providentially saved. We fired as fast +as possible into the dark mass that filled the road not twenty yards +behind us. Every shot told but the pursuit did not lag. To-day I +shudder as I think of that surging mass of gray forms with eyes +glistening like fireballs, and the serrated jaws that opened as if +certain of a feast.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg571-1.gif' id='xlg571-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FATAL RESULT.</p></div> + +<p>“A stern chase is proverbially a long one. If no accident happened to +sledge or horses we felt certain that the wolves which followed could +not overtake us.</p> + +<p>“As we approached home our horses gave signs of lagging, and the +pursuing wolves came nearer. One huge beast sprang at the sledge and +actually fastened his fore paws upon it. I struck him over the head +with my gun and he released his hold. A moment later I heard the +barking of our dogs at the house, and as the gleam of the lantern +caught my eye I fell unconscious to the bottom of the sledge. I woke +an hour later and saw Kanchin pacing the floor in silence. Repeatedly +I spoke to him but he answered only in monosyllables.</p> + +<p>“The next day, a party of peasants went to look for the remains of poor +Ivan. A few shreds of clothing, and the cross he wore about his neck, +were all the vestiges that could be found. For three weeks I lay ill +with a fever and returned to St. Petersburg immediately on my +recovery. Kanchin has lived in seclusion ever since, and both of us +were gray-haired within six months.”</p> + +<p>Before the construction of the railway between Moscow and Nijne +Novgorod there were forest guards at regular intervals to protect the +road from bears and wolves. The men lived in huts placed upon +scaffoldings fifteen or twenty feet high. This arrangement served a +double purpose; the guards could see farther than on the ground and +they were safe from nocturnal attacks of their four-footed enemies.</p> + +<p>One evening at a dinner party, I heard several anecdotes about wolves, +of which I preserve two.</p> + +<p>“I was once,” said a gentleman, “pursued by ten or twelve wolves. One +horse fell and we had just time to cut the traces of the other, +overturn our sleigh and get under as in a cage, before the wolves +overtook us. We thought the free horse would run to the village and +the people would come to rescue us. What was our surprise to see him +charge upon the wolves, kill two with his hoofs and drive away the +rest. When the other horse recovered we harnessed our team and drove +home.”</p> + +<p>“And I,” said another, “was once attacked when on foot. I wore a new +pelisse of sheep-skin and a pair of reindeer-skin boots. Wolves are +fond of deer and sheep, and they eat skin and all when they have a +chance. The brutes stripped off my pelisse and boots without harming +my skin. Just as I was preparing to give them my woolen trousers, some +peasants came to my relief.” Although I feared my auditors would be +incredulous, I told the story of David Crockett when treed by a +hundred or more prairie wolves. “I shot away all my ammunition, and +threw away my gun and knife among them, but it was no use. Finally, I +thought I would try the effect of music and began to sing ‘Old +Hundred.’ Before I finished the first verse every wolf put his fore +paws to his ears and galloped off.”</p> + +<p>My story did not produce the same results upon my audience, but almost +as marked a one, for all appreciated its humor, and before I had +fairly finished a burst of laughter resounded through the room, and it +was unanimously voted that Americans could excel in all things, not +excepting Wolf Stories.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_573'></a> +<img src="images/sm573-1.gif" id='sm573-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLVIII'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLVIII.</h2></div> + + +<p>The many vehicles in motion made a good road twelve hours after the +storm ceased. The thermometer fell quite low, and the sharp frost +hardened the track and enabled the horses to run rapidly. I found the +temperature varying from 25° to 40° below zero at different exposures. +This was cold enough, in fact, too cold for comfort, and we were +obliged to put on all our furs. When fully wrapped I could have filled +the eye of any match-making parent in Christendom, so far as quantity +is concerned. The doctor walked as if the icy and inhospitable North +had been his dwelling-place for a dozen generations, and promised to +continue so a few hundred years longer. We were about as agile as a +pair of prize hogs, or the fat boy in the side show of a circus.</p> + +<p>My beard was the greatest annoyance that showed itself to my face, and +I regretted keeping it uncut. It was in the way in a great many ways. +When it was outside my coat I wanted it in, and when it was inside it +would not stay there. It froze to my collar and seemed studying the +doctrine of affinity. A sudden motion in such case would pull my chin +painfully and tear away a few hairs. It was neither long nor heavy, +but could hold a surprising quantity of snow and ice. It would freeze +into a solid mass, and when thawing required much attention. The +Russian officers shave the chin habitually, and wear their hair pretty +short when traveling. I made a resolution to carry my beard inviolate +to St. Petersburg, but frequently wished I had been less rash. A +mustache makes a very good portable thermometer for low temperatures. +After a little practice one can estimate within a few degrees any +stage of cold below zero, Fahrenheit. A mustache will frost itself +from the breath and stiffen slowly at zero, but It does not become +solid. It needs no waxing to enable it to hold its own when the scale +descends to -10° or thereabouts, and when one experiences -15° and so +on downward, he will feel as if wearing an icicle on his upper lip. +The estimate of the cold is to be based on the time required for a +thorough hardening of this labial ornament, and of course the rule is +not available if the face is kept covered.</p> + +<p>There is a traveler’s story that a freezing nose in a Russian city is +seized upon and rubbed by the bystanders without explanation. In a +winter’s residence and travel in Russia I never witnessed that +interesting incident, and am inclined to scepticism regarding it. The +thermometer showed -53° while I was in St. Petersburg, and hovered +near that figure for several days. Though I constantly hoped to see +somebody’s nose rubbed I was doomed to disappointment. I did observe +several noses that might have been subjected to friction, but it is +quite probable the operation would have enraged the rub<i>bee</i>.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg575-1.gif' id='lg575-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>EXCUSE MY FAMILIARITY.</p></div> + +<p>During our coldest nights on the steppe we had the unclouded heavens +in all their beauty. The stars shone in scintillating magnificence, +and seemed nearer the earth than I ever saw them before. In the north +was a brilliant aurora flashing in long beams of electric light, and +forming a fiery arch above the fields of ice and snow. Oh, the +splendor of those winter nights In the north! It cannot be forgotten, +and it cannot be described.</p> + +<p>Twilight is long in a Siberian winter, both at the commencement and +the close of day. Morning is the best time to view it. A faint glimmer +appears in the quarter where the sun is to rise, but increases so +slowly that one often doubts that he has really seen it. The gleam of +light grows broader; the heavens above it become purple, then scarlet, +then golden, and gradually change to the whiteness of silver. When the +sun peers above the horizon the whole scene becomes dazzlingly +brilliant from the reflection of his rays on the snow. In the coldest +mornings there is sometimes a cloud or fog-bank resting near the +earth, from the congelation and falling of all watery particles in the +atmosphere. When the sun strikes this cloud and one looks through it +the air seems filled with millions of microscopic gems, throwing off +many combinations of prismatic colors, and agitated and mingled by +some unseen force. Gradually the cloud melts away as it receives the +direct rays of light and heat.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm576-1.gif' id='sm576-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>FROSTED HORSES.</p></div> + +<p>The intense cold upon the road affects horses by coating them, with +white frost. Their perspiration congeals and covers them as one may +see the grass covered in a November morning. Nature has dressed these +horses warmly, and very often their hair may justly be called fur. +They do not appear to suffer from the cold; they are never blanketed, +and their stables are little better than open sheds. One of their +annoyances is the congelation of their breath, and in the coldest +weather the yemshicks are frequently obliged to break away the icicles +that form around their horses’ mouths. I have seen a horse reach the +end of a course with his nose encircled in a row of icy spikes, +resembling the decoration sometimes attached to a weaning calf.</p> + +<p>In a clear morning or evening of the coldest days the smoke from the +chimneys in the villages rises very slowly. Gaining a certain height, +it spreads out as if unable to ascend farther. It is always light in +color and density, and when touched by the sun’s rays appears faintly +crimsoned or gilded. Once when we reached a small hill dominating a +village, I could see the cloud of smoke below me agitated like the +ground swell of the ocean. I had only a moment to look upon it ere we +descended to the level of the street.</p> + +<p>I have not recorded the incidents of each day on the steppe in +chronological order, on account of their similarity and monotony. Just +one week after our departure from Barnaool we observed that the houses +were constructed of pine instead of birch, and the country began to +change in character. At a station where a fiery-tempered woman +required us to pay in advance for our horses, we were only twenty +versts from Tumen.</p> + +<p>It is but a step from the sublime to the ridiculous, and it is only a +steppe (a thousand miles wide) between Tomsk and Tumen. Travelers from +Irkutsk to St. Petersburg consider their journey pretty nearly +accomplished on getting thus far along. The Siberians make light of +distances that would frighten many Americans. “From Tumen you will +have only sixteen hundred versts to the end of the railway,” said a +gentleman to me one day. A lady at Krasnoyarsk said I ought to wait +until spring and visit her gold mines. I asked their locality, and +received the reply, “Close by here; only four hundred versts away. You +can go almost there in a carriage, and will have only a hundred and +twenty versts on horseback.”</p> + +<p>The best portion of Tumen is on a bluff eighty or a hundred feet above +the river Tura. The lower town spreads over a wide meadow, and its +numerous windmills at once reminded me of Stockton, California. We +happened to arrive on market day, when the peasants from the +surrounding country were gathered in all their glory for purposes of +traffic. How such a lot of merchandise of nearly every kind under the +Siberian sun could find either buyer or seller, it is difficult to +imagine. The market-place was densely thronged, but there seemed to be +very little traffic in progress.</p> + +<p>The population of Tumen is about twenty thousand, and said to be +rapidly increasing. The town is prosperous, as its many new and +well-built houses bear witness. It has shorn Tobolsk of nearly all her +commerce, and left her to mourn her former greatness. It is about +three hundred versts from the ridge of the Urals, and at the head of +navigation on the Tura. Half a dozen steamers were frozen in and +awaited the return of spring, their machinery being stored to prevent +its rusting.</p> + +<p>In the public square of Tumen there was a fountain, the first I saw in +Siberia. Men, women, boys, and girls were filling buckets and barrels, +which they dragged away on sleds.</p> + +<p>When we returned from our drive, and were seated at dinner, the cook +brought a quantity of “Tumen carpets” for sale. He used all his +eloquence upon me, but in vain. These carpets were made by hand in the +villages around Tumen, their material being goat’s hair. From their +appearance I judged that a coarse cloth was “looped” full of thread, +which was afterward cut to a plush surface. Some of the figures were +quite pretty. These carpets can be found in nearly every peasant house +in Western Siberia, where they are used as bed and table coverings, +floor mats, and carriage robes.</p> + +<p>From Tumen to Nijne Novgorod the post is in the hands of a company, +and one can buy a ticket for any distance he chooses. We bought to +Ekaterineburg, 306 versts, paying nine copecks a verst for each +vehicle. At the stations it is only necessary to show the ticket, +which will bring horses without delay. The company has a splendid +monopoly, protected by an imperial order forbidding competition. The +peasants would gladly take travelers at lower rates if the practice +were permitted. The only thing they can do is to charter their horses +to the company at about one-third the ticket prices. Alexander would +make many friends among the people by curtailing the monopoly.</p> + +<p>From the Tura the country became undulating as we approached the +Urals, but we passed no rugged hills. A great deal of the road lay +between double rows of birch trees, that serve for shade in summer and +do much to prevent the drifting of snow in winter. Forests of fir +appeared on the slopes, and were especially pleasing after the +half-desolation of the steppe.</p> + +<p>The villages had a larger and more substantial appearance, that +indicated our approach to Europe. Long trains laden with freight from +Perm, blocked the way and delayed us. A few collisions made our sleigh +tremble, and in two instances turned it on its beam ends. We were +ahead of the tea trains that left Irkutsk with the early snows, so +that we passed few sledges going in our own direction. The second +night found us so near Ekaterineburg that we halted a couple of hours +for the double purpose of taking tea and losing time.</p> + +<p>At the last station, about six in the morning, we were greeted with +Christmas festivities. While we waited in the traveler’s room, two +boys sung or chanted several minutes, and then begged for money. We +gave them a few copecks, and their success brought two others, who +were driven away by the smotretal. I was told that poor children have +a privilege of begging in this manner on Christmas morning. There are +many beggars in the towns and villages of the Urals, and in summer +there is a fair supply of highwaymen. Several beggars surrounded our +sleigh as we prepared to depart and seemed determined to make the most +of the occasion.</p> + +<p>The undulations of the road increased, and the fir woods became +thicker as we approached Ekaterineburg, nestled on the bank of the +Isset. Just outside the town we passed a large zavod, devoted to the +manufacture of candles. An immense quantity of tallow from the +Kirghese steppes undergoes conversion into stearine at this +establishment, and the production supplies candles to all Siberia and +part of European Russia.</p> + +<p>As we entered the <i>slobodka</i> and descended rapidly toward the river, +the bells were clanging loudly and the population was generally on its +way to church. The men were in their best shoobas and caps, while the +women displayed the latest fashions in winter cloaks. Several pretty +faces, rosy from the biting frost, peered at the strangers, who +returned as many glances as possible. Our yemshick took us to the +Hotel de Berlin, and, for the first time in eighteen hundred versts, +we unloaded our baggage from the sleighs. Breakfast, a bath, and a +change of clothes prepared me for the sights of this Uralian city.</p> + +<p>For sight-seeing, the time of my arrival was unfortunate. Every kind +of work was suspended, every shop was closed, and nothing could be +done until the end of the Christmas holidays. I especially desired to +inspect the <i>Granilnoi Fabric</i>, or Imperial establishment for stone +cutting, and the machine shop where all steam engines for Siberia are +manufactured. But, as everything had yielded to the general +festivities, I could not gratify my desire.</p> + +<p>Ekaterineburg is on the Asiatic side of the Urals, though belonging to +the European government of Perm. It has a beautiful situation, the +Isset being dammed so as to form a small lake in the middle of the +city. Many of the best houses overlook this lake, and, from their +balconies, one can enjoy charming views of the city, water, and the +dark forests of the Urals. The principal street and favorite drive +passes at the end of the lake, and is pretty well thronged in fine +weather. There are many wealthy citizens in Ekaterineburg, as the +character of the houses will attest. I was told there was quite a rage +among them for statuary, pictures, and other works of art. Special +care is bestowed upon conservatories, some of which contain tropical +plants imported at enormous expense. The population is about twenty +thousand, and increases very slowly.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg581-1.gif' id='xlg581-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>VIEW OF EKATERINEBURG.</p></div> + +<p>The city is the central point of mining enterprises of the +Ural mountains, and the residence of the Nachalnik, or chief of +mines. The general plan of management is much like that already +described at Barnaool. The government mines include those of iron, +copper, and gold, the latter being of least importance. Great +quantities of shot, shell, and guns have been made in the Urals, as +well as iron work for more peaceful purposes. Beside the government +works, there are numerous foundries and manufactories of a private +character. In various parts of the Ural chain some of the zavods are +of immense extent, and employ large numbers of workmen. At Nijne +Tagilsk, for example, there is a population of twenty-five thousand, +all engaged directly or indirectly in the production of iron.</p> + +<p>The sheet iron so popular in America for parlor stoves and stove pipe, +comes from Ekaterineburg and its vicinity, and is made from magnetic +ore. The bar iron of the Urals is famous the world over for its +excellent qualities, and commands a higher price than any other. Great +quantities of iron are floated in boats down the streams flowing into +the Kama and Volga. Thence it goes to the fair at Nijne Novgorod, and +to the points of shipment to the maritime markets.</p> + +<p>The development of the wealth of the Urals has been largely due to the +Demidoff family. Nikite Demidoff was sent by Peter the Great, about +the year 1701, to examine the mines on both sides of the chain. He +performed his work thoroughly, and was so well satisfied with the +prospective wealth of the region that he established himself there +permanently. In return for his services, the government granted a +large tract to the Demidoffs in perpetuity. The famous malachite mines +are on the Demidoff estate, but are only a small portion of the +mineral wealth in the original grant. I have heard the Demidoff family +called the richest in Russia—except the Romanoff. Many zavods in the +Urals were planned and constructed by Nikite and his descendants, and +most of them are still in successful operation and have undergone no +change. The iron works of the Urals are very extensive, and capable +of supplying any reasonable demand of individual or imperial +character. At Zlatoust there is a manufactory of firearms and sword +blades that is said to be unsurpassed in the excellence of its +products. The sabres from Zlatoust are of superior fineness and +quality, rivaling the famous blades of Damascus and Toledo.</p> + +<p>Close by the little lake in Ekaterineburg is the <i>Moneta Fabric,</i> or +Imperial mint, where all the copper money of Russia is coined. It is +an extensive concern, and most of its machinery was constructed in the +city. The copper mines of the Urals are the richest in Russia, and +possess inexhaustible wealth. Malachite—an oxide of copper—is found +here in large quantities. I believe the only mines where malachite is +worked are in the Urals, though small specimens of this beautiful +mineral have been found near Lake Superior and in Australia.</p> + +<p>About twenty-five years ago an enormous mass of malachite, said to +weigh 400 tons, was discovered near Tagilsk. It has since been broken +up and removed, its value being more than a million roubles. Sir +Roderick Murchison, while exploring the Urals on behalf of the Russian +government, saw this treasure while the excavations around it were in +progress. According to his account it was found 280 feet below the +surface. Strings of copper were followed by the miners until they +unexpectedly reached the malachite. Other masses of far less +importance have since been found, some of them containing sixty per +cent. of copper.</p> + +<p>The gold mines of the Ural are less extensive now than formerly, new +discoveries not equaling the exhausted placers. They are principally +on the Asiatic slope, in the vicinity of Kamenskoi. The Emperor +Alexander First visited the mines of the Ural in 1824, and personally +wielded the shovel and pickaxe nearly two hours. A nugget weighing +twenty-four pounds and some ounces was afterward found about two feet +below the point where His Majesty ‘knocked off’ work. A monument now +marks the spot, and contains the tools handled by the Emperor.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_XLIX'></a><h2>CHAPTER XLIX.</h2></div> + + +<p>I had several commissions to execute for the purchase of souvenirs at +Ekaterineburg, and lost no time in visiting a dealer. While we were at +breakfast an itinerant merchant called, and subsequently another +accosted us on the street. At ordinary times, strangers are beset by +men and boys who are walking cabinets of semi-precious stones. A small +boy met me in the corridor of the hotel and repeated a lapidarious +vocabulary that would have shamed a professor of mineralogy.</p> + +<p>At the dealer’s, I was very soon in a bewildering collection of +amethyst, beryl, chalcedony, topaz, tourmaline, jasper, aquamarine, +malachite, and other articles of value. The collection numbered many +hundred pieces comprising seals, paper, weights, beads, charms for +watch chains, vases, statuettes, brooches, buttons, etc. The handles +of seals were cut in a variety of ways, some representing animals or +birds, while a goodly portion were plain or fluted at the sides.</p> + +<p>The prettiest work I saw was in paper weights. There were imitations +of leaves, flowers, and grapes in properly tinted stone fixed upon +marble tablets either white or colored. Equal skill was displayed in +arranging and cutting these stones. I saw many beautiful mosaics +displaying the stones of the Ural and Altai mountains.</p> + +<p>Natural crystals were finely arranged in the shape of miniature caves +and grottoes. Beads were of malachite, crystal, topaz, and variegated +marble, and seemed quite plentiful. Malachite is the most abundant of +the half-precious stones of the Ural, crystal and topaz ranking next. +Aquamarine was the most valuable stone offered. It is not found in +the Urals but comes from Eastern Siberia.</p> + +<p>In another establishment there were little busts of the Emperor and +other high personages in Russia, cut in crystal and topaz. I saw a +fine bust of Yermak, and another of the elder Demidoff, both in topaz. +A crystal bust of Louis Napoleon was exhibited, and its owner told me +it would be sent to the <i>Exposition Universelle</i>. Learning that I was +an American, the proprietor showed me a half completed bust of Mr. +Lincoln, and was gratified to learn that the likeness was good. The +bust was cut in topaz, and when finished would be about six inches +high.</p> + +<p>Though no work was in progress I had opportunity to look through a +private “fabric.” Stone cutting is performed as by lapidaries every +where with small wheels covered with diamond dust or emery. Each +laborer has his bench and performs a particular part of the work under +the direction of a superintendent. Wages were very low, skilled +workmen being paid less than ordinary stevedores in America. For three +roubles, I bought a twelve sided topaz, an inch in diameter with the +signs of the zodiac neatly engraved upon it. In London or New York, +the cutting would have cost more than ten times that amount. The +Granilnoi Fabric employs about a hundred and fifty workmen, but no +private establishment supports more than twenty-five. The Granilnoi +Fabric was to be sold in 1867, and pass out of government control. The +laborers there were formerly crown peasants, and became free under the +abolition ukase of Alexander II. The palace and Imperial museum at St. +Petersburg contain wonderful illustrations of their skill.</p> + +<p>Diamonds have been sought in the Urals, and the region is said to +resemble the diamond districts of Brazil. They have been found in but +a single instance, and there is a suspicion that the few discovered on +that occasion were a “plant.”</p> + +<p>We remained two days at Ekaterineburg, repairing sleighs and resting +from fatigue. On account of the holidays, we paid double prices for +labor, and were charged double by drosky drivers. At the hotel, the +landlord wished to follow the same custom, but we emphatically +objected. A theatrical performance came off during our stay, but we +were too weary to witness it. Near the hotel there was a “live beast +show” almost an exact counterpart of what one sees in America. Music, +voluble doorkeepers, gaping crowd of youngsters, and canvas pictures +of terrific combats between beasts and snakes, all were there.</p> + +<p>According to our custom we prepared to start in the evening for +another westward stride. The thermometer was low enough to give the +snow that crisp, metallic sound under the runners only heard in cold +weather. We took tickets for Kazan, and ordered horses at nine +o’clock. As we left the city, we passed between two monument-like +posts, marking the gateway.</p> + +<p>Two or three versts away, we passed the zavod of Verkne Issetskoi, an +immense concern with a population sufficient to found a score of +western cities. In this establishment is made a great deal of the +sheet-iron that comes to America. The material is of so fine a quality +that it can be rolled to the thickness of letter paper without +breaking. Every thing at the zavod is on a grand scale even to the +house of the director, and his facilities for entertaining guests. All +was silent at the time of our passage, the workmen being busy with +their Christmas festivities.</p> + +<p>Leaving the zavod we were once more among the forests of the Urals, +and riding over the low hills that form this part of the range. The +road was good, but there were more <i>oukhabas</i> than suited my fancy.</p> + +<p>I was on constant lookout for the steep road leading over the range, +but failed to find it. Before leaving New York a friend suggested that +I should have a severe journey over the Ural mountains which were +deeply shaded on the map we consulted. I can assure him it was no +worse than a sleigh ride anywhere else on a clear, frosty night. The +ascent is so gradual that one does not perceive it at all. +Ekaterineburg stands eight hundred feet above the sea; the pass, +twenty-four miles distant, is only nine hundred feet higher. The +range is depressed at this point, but nowhere attains sufficient +loftiness to justify its prominence on the maps. In Ekaterineburg I +asked for the mountains.</p> + +<p>“There they are,” said the person of whom I enquired, and he waved his +hand toward a wooded ridge in the west. The designated locality +appeared less difficult of passage than the hills opposite Cincinnati.</p> + +<p>“Don’t fail to tell the yemshick to stop at the boundary.” This was my +injunction several times repeated as we changed horses at the first +station. Eight or ten versts on our second course, the sleigh halted +and the yemshick announced the highest point on the road.</p> + +<p>I stepped from the sleigh and waded through a deep snowdrift to the +granite obelisk erected by the first Alexander to mark the line +between the two continents. It Is a plain shaft—- Bunker Hill +monument in miniature—bearing the word “EUROPE” on one side, and +“ASIA” on the other. Two fir trees planted by His August Majesty are +on opposite sides of the monument.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/sm587-1.gif' id='sm587-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>EUROPE AND ASIA.</p></div> + +<p>A snow-drift in the middle of a frosty night is not the place for +sentimental musings. I rested a foot in each of two continents at the +same moment, but could not discover any difference in their manners, +customs, or climate.</p> + +<p>Regaining the sleigh, I nestled into my furs, and soon fell asleep. I +was in Europe. I had accomplished the hope and dream of my boyhood. +But in my most romantic moments, I had not expected to stand for the +first time in Europe on the ridge of the Ural Mountains.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg588-1.gif' id='lg588-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>A RUSSIAN BEGGAR.</p></div> + +<p>After passing the boundary, we dashed away over the undulating road, +and made a steady though, imperceptible descent into the valley of the +Kama. As I commenced my first day in Europe, the sunbeams wavered and +glistened on the frost-crystals that covered the trees, and the flood +of light that poured full into my opening eyes was painfully dazzling. +Where we halted for breakfast, the station was neat and commodious, +and its rooms well furnished. We fared sumptuously on cutlets and +eggs, with excellent bread. Just as we were seated in the sleigh, a +beggar made a touching appeal, as explained by the doctor, in behalf +of the prophet Elias. The prophet’s financial agent was of so +unprepossessing appearance that we declined investing. Beggars often +ask alms in the interest of particular saints, and this one had +attached himself to Elias.</p> + +<p>We met many sledges laden with goods <i>en route</i> to the fair which +takes place every February at Irbit. This fair is of great importance +to Siberia, and attracts merchants from all the region west of Tomsk. +From forty to fifty million roubles worth of goods are exchanged there +during the four weeks devoted to traffic. The commodities from Siberia +are chiefly furs and tea, those from Europe comprise a great many +articles. Irbit is on the Asiatic side of the Ural mountains, about +two hundred versts northeast of Ekaterineburg. It is a place of little +consequence except during the time of the fair.</p> + +<p>After entering Europe, we relied upon the stations for our meals, +carrying no provisions with us except tea and sugar. We knew the +peasants would be well supplied with edibles during Christmas +holidays, and were quite safe in depending upon them. A traveler in +Russia must consult the calendar before starting on a journey, if he +would ascertain what provision he may, or may not, find among the +people.</p> + +<p>Congour was the first town of importance, and has an unenviable +reputation for its numerous thieves. They do not molest the post +vehicles unless the opportunity is very favorable, their +accomplishments being specially exercised upon merchandise trains. +Sometimes when trains pass through Congour the natives manage to steal +single vehicles and their loads. The operation is facilitated by there +being only one driver to five or six teams. This town is also famous +for its tanneries, the leather from Congour having a high reputation +throughout Russia. Peter the Great was at much trouble to teach the +art of tanning to his subjects. At present, the Russians have very +little to learn from others on that score. Peter introduced tanning +from Holland and Germany, and when the first piece of leather tanned +in Russia was brought to him he took it between his teeth and exerted +all the strength of his jaws to bite through it. The leather resisted +his efforts, and so delighted the monarch that he decreed a pension +to the successful tanner. The specimen, with the marks of his teeth +upon it, is still preserved at St. Petersburg.</p> + +<p>While waiting for dinner at Congour, I contemplated some engravings +hanging in the public room at the station. Four of them represented +scenes in “Elizabeth, or the exiles of Siberia,” a story which has +been translated into most modern languages. These engravings were made +in Moscow several years ago, and illustrated the most prominent +incidents in the narrative.</p> + +<p>There were many things to remind me I was no longer in Siberia, and +especially on the Baraba steppe. Snows were deeper, and the sky was +clearer. The level country was replaced by a broken one. Forests of +pine and fir displayed regular clearings, and evinced careful +attention. Villages were more numerous, larger and of greater +antiquity. Stations were better kept and had more the air of hotels. +Churches appeared more venerable and less venerated. Beggars increased +in number, and importunity. In Asia the yemshick was the only man at a +station who asked “navodku,” but in Europe the <i>chelavek</i> or <i>starost</i> +expected to be remembered. In Asia, the gratuity was called “Navodku” +or whisky money; in Europe, it was “<i>nachi</i>,” tea money.</p> + +<p>During the second night, we reached Perm and halted long enough to eat +a supper that made me dream of tigers and polar bears during my first +sleep. In entering, we drove along a lighted street with substantial +houses on either side, but without meeting man or beast. This street +and the station were all I saw of a city of 25,000 inhabitants. In +summer travelers for Siberia usually leave the steamboat at this +point, and begin their land journey, the Kama being navigable thus far +in ordinary water. Perm is an important mining center, and contains +several foundries and manufactories on an extensive scale. The doctor +assured me that after the places I had visited in Siberia, there was +nothing to be seen there—and I saw it.</p> + +<p>A deep snow had been trodden into an uneven road in this part of the +journey. At times it seemed to me as if the sleigh and all it +contained would go to pieces in the terrific thumps we received. We +descended hills as if pursued by wolves or a guilty conscience, and it +was generally our fate to find a huge oukhaba just when the horses +were doing their best. I think the sleigh sometimes made a clear leap +of six or eight feet from the crest of a ridge to the bottom of a +hollow. The leaping was not very objectionable, but the impact made +everything rattle. I could say, like the Irishman who fell from a +house top, “’twas not the fall, darling, that hurt me, but stopping so +quick at the end.”</p> + +<p>When the roads are rough the continual jolting of the sleigh is very +fatiguing to a traveler, and frequently, during the first two or three +days of his journey, throws him into what is very properly designated +the road fever. His pulse is quick, his blood warm, his head aches, +his whole frame becomes sore and stiff, and his mind is far from being +serene and amiable. In the first part of my land journey I had the +satisfaction of ascertaining by practical experience the exact +character of the road-fever. My brain seemed ready to burst, and +appeared to my excited imagination about as large as a barrel; every +fresh jolt and thump of the vehicle gave me a sensation as if somebody +were driving a tenpenny nail into my skull; as for good-nature under +such circumstances that was out of the question, and I am free to +confess that my temper was not unlike that of a bear with a sore head.</p> + +<p>Where the roads are good, or if the speed is not great, one can sleep +very well in a Russian sleigh; I succeeded in extracting a great deal +of slumber from my vehicle, and sometimes did not wake for three or +four hours. Sometimes the roads are in such wretched condition that +one is tossed to the height of discomfort, and can be very well +likened to a lump of butter in a revolving churn. In such cases sleep +is almost if not wholly, impossible, and the traveler, proceeding at +courier speed, must take advantage of the few moments’ halt at the +stations while the horses are being changed. As he has but ten or +fifteen minutes for the change he makes good use of his time and +sleeps very soundly until his team is ready. During the Crimean war, +while the Emperor Nicholas was temporarily sojourning at Moscow, a +courier arrived one day with important dispatches from Sebastopol. He +was commissioned to deliver them to no one but His Majesty, and waited +in the ante-room of the palace while his name and business were +announced. Overcome by fatigue he fell asleep; when the chamberlains +came to take him to the Imperial presence they were quite unable to +rouse him. The attendants shook him and shouted, but to no purpose +beyond making so much disturbance as to bring the Emperor to the +ante-room. Nicholas ordered them to desist, and then, standing near +the officer, said, in an ordinary voice, “<i>Vashe prevoschoditelstvo, +loshadi gotovey</i>” (Your horses are ready, your Excellency). The +officer sprang to his feet in an instant, greatly to the delight of +the Emperor and to his own confusion when he discovered where he was.</p> + +<p>The Russians have several popular songs that celebrate the glories of +sleigh-riding. I give a translation of a portion of one of them, a +song that is frequently repeated by the peasants in the vicinity of +Moscow and Nijne Novgorod. It is proper to explain that a <i>troika</i> is +a team of three horses abreast, the <i>douga</i> is the yoke above the +shaft-horse’s neck, and Valdai is the town on the Moscow and St. +Petersburg road where the best and most famous bells of Russia are +made.</p> + +<div class='poem'><div class='stanza'> +<span>A RUSSIAN SLEIGHING SONG.<br /></span> +</div><div class='stanza'> +<span>Away, away, along the road<br /></span> +<span class='i1'>The fiery troika bounds,<br /></span> +<span>While ’neath the douga, sadly sweet,<br /></span> +<span class='i1'>The Valdai bell resounds.<br /></span> +</div><div class='stanza'> +<span>Away, away, we leave the town,<br /></span> +<span class='i1'>Its roofs and spires behind,<br /></span> +<span>The crystal snow-flakes dance around<br /></span> +<span class='i1'>As o’er the steppe we wind.<br /></span> +</div><div class='stanza'> +<span>Away, away, the glittering stars<br /></span> +<span class='i1'>Shine greeting from above,<br /></span> +<span>Our hearts beat fast as on we glide,<br /></span> +<span class='i1'>Swift as the flying dove.<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_L'></a><h2>CHAPTER L.</h2></div> + + +<p>We found the road much better after leaving the government of Perm and +entering that of Viatka. The yemshicks we took in this region were +“Votiaks,” descendants of the Finnish races that dwelt there before +the Russian conquest. They had the dark physiognomy of the Finns, and +spoke a mixture of their own language and Russian. They have been +generally baptized and brought into the Greek churches, though they +still adhere to some of their ancient forms of worship. They pay taxes +to the crown, but their local administration is left to themselves.</p> + +<p>Approaching Malmouish we had a sullen driver who insisted upon going +slowly, even while descending hills. Indignantly I suggested giving +the fellow a kick for his drink money. The doctor attempted to be +stern and reproved the delinquent, but ended with giving him five +copecks and an injunction to do better in future. I opposed making +undeserved gratuities, and after this occurrence determined to say no +more about rewards to drivers during the rest of the journey.</p> + +<p>Memorandum for travelers making the Siberian tour:</p> + +<p>An irritable disposition, (like mine,) should not be placed with an +amiable one, (like the doctor’s.) If misery loves company, so does +anger; and a petulant man should have an associate who <i>can</i> be +ruffled.</p> + +<p>After leaving the Votiaks, we entered the country of the Tartars, the +descendants of the followers of Genghis Khan, who carried the Mongol +standard into Central Europe. Russia remained long under their yoke, +and the Tartars of the present day live as a distinct people in +various parts of the empire. They are nearly all Mohammedans, and the +conversion of one of them to Christianity is a very rare occurrence. +My attention was called to their mosques in the villages we passed, +the construction being quite unlike that of the Russian churches. A +tall spire or minaret, somewhat like the steeple of an American +church, rises in the center of a Tartar mosque and generally overlooks +the whole village. No bells are used, the people being called to +prayer by the voice of a crier.</p> + +<p>These Tartars have none of the warlike spirit of their ancestors, and +are among the most peaceful subjects of the Russian emperor. They are +industrious and enterprising, and manage to live comfortably. Their +reputation for shrewdness doubtless gave rise to the story of the +difficulty of catching a Tartar.</p> + +<p>At the stations we generally found Russian smotretals with Tartar +attendants. Blacksmiths, looking for jobs, carefully examined our +sleighs. One found my shafts badly chafed where they touched the +runners, and offered to iron the weak points for sixty copecks. I +objected to the delay for preparing the irons. “<i>Grotovey, Grotovey; +piet minute</i>” said the man, producing the ready prepared irons from +one pocket and a hammer and nails from another. By the time the horses +were led out the job was completed. I should have been better +satisfied if one iron had not come off within two hours, and left the +shaft as bare as ever.</p> + +<p>The Tartars speak Russian very fairly, but use the Mongol language +among themselves. They dress like the Russians, or very nearly so, the +most distinguishing feature being a sort of skull cap like that worn +by the Chinese. Their hair is cut like a prize fighter’s, excepting a +little tuft on the crown. Out of doors they wore the Russian cap over +their Mohammedan one—unconsciously symbolizing their subjection to +Muscovite rule.</p> + +<p>These Tartars drove horses of the same race as those in the Baraba +steppe. They carried us finely where the road permitted, and I had +equal admiration for the powers of the horses and the skill of their +drivers.</p> + +<p>In the night, after passing Malmouish, the weather became warm. I laid +aside my dehar only a half hour before the thermometer fell, and set +me shivering. About daybreak it was warmer, and the increasing +temperature ushered in a violent storm. It snowed and it blowed, and +it was cold, frosty weather all day and all night. We closed the +sleigh and attempted to exclude the snow, but our efforts were vain. +The little crevices admitted enough to cover us in a short time, and +we very soon concluded to let the wind have its own way. The road was +filled, and in many places we had hard work to get through. How the +yemshicks found the way was a mystery. Once at a station, when the +smotretal announced “gotovey,” I was actually unable to find the +sleigh, though it stood not twenty feet from the door. The yemshicks +said they were guided by the telegraph posts, which followed the line +of road.</p> + +<p>We were four hours making twenty-five versts to the last station +before reaching Kazan. We took a hearty supper of soup, eggs, and +bread, under a suspicion that we might remain out all night. Once the +mammoth sleigh came up with us in the dark, and its shafts nearly ran +us through. Collisions of this kind happened occasionally on the road, +but were rarely as forcible as this one. We were twice on our beam +ends and nearly overturned, and on several occasions stuck in the +snow. By good luck we managed to arrive at Kazan about 2 A. M. On +reaching the hotel, we were confronted by what I thought a snow +statue, but which proved to be the <i>dvornik</i>, or watchman. Our baggage +was taken up stairs, while we shook the snow from our furs. The +samovar shortened our visages and filled our stomachs with tea. We +retired to rest upon sofas and did not rise until a late hour.</p> + +<p>It happened to be New Year’s, and the fashionable society of Kazan was +doing its congratulations. I drove through the principal part of the +city and found an animated scene. Numberless and numbered droskies +were darting through the streets, carrying gayly dressed officers +making their ceremonious calls. Soldiers were parading with bands of +music, and the lower classes were out in large numbers. The storm had +ceased, the weather was warm, and everything was propitious for +out-door exercise.</p> + +<p>The soldiers were the first I had seen since entering Europe, and +impressed me favorably with the Russian army. They wore grey uniforms, +like those I saw in Siberia, and marched with a regular and steady +stride. It was not till I had reached St. Petersburg that I saw the +<i>elite</i> of the Emperor’s military forces. The reforms of Alexander +have not left the army untouched. Great improvements have been made in +the last twelve or fifteen years. More attention has been paid to the +private soldiers than heretofore, their pay being increased and time +of service lessened. The Imperial family preserves its military +character, and the present Emperor allows no laxity of discipline in +his efforts to elevate the men in the ranks.</p> + +<p>It is said of the grand duke Michel, uncle of Alexander II., that he +was a most rigid disciplinarian. His great delight was in parades, and +he never overlooked the least irregularity. Not a button, not a +moustache even, escaped his notice, and whoever was not <i>en regle</i> was +certain to be punished. He is reported to have said,—</p> + +<p>“I detest war. It breaks the ranks, deranges the soldiers, and soils +their uniforms.” + +<a name='FNanchor_F_6'></a> +<a href='#Footnote_F_6'><sup>[F]</sup></a></p> + +<div><a name='Footnote_F_6'></a><a href='#FNanchor_F_6'>[F]</a></div> +<div class='note'> +<p> The land forces of Russia are formed of two descriptions +of troops—the regular troops properly so called, and the feudal +militia of the Cossacks and similar tribes. +</p><p> +The regular army is recruited from the classes of peasants and +artisans partly and principally by means of a conscription, partly by +the adoption of the sons of soldiers, and partly by voluntary +enlistment. Every individual belonging to these classes is, with a few +exceptions, liable to compulsory service, provided he be of the proper +age and stature. The nominal strength of the Russian army, according +to the returns of the ministry of War, is as follows: +</p> + +<table cellspacing='3' cellpadding='3' +summary="Nominal strength of the Russian Regular army circa 1870"> +<tr> + <th align='left'>1. <i>Regular Army.</i></th> + <th align='left'>Peace-footing.</th> + <th align='left'>War-footing.</th> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Infantry</td> + <td align='right'>364,422</td> + <td align='right'>694,511</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Cavalry</td> + <td align='right'>38,306</td> + <td align='right'>49,183</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Artillery</td> + <td align='right'>41,831</td> + <td align='right'>48,773</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Engineers</td> + <td align='right'>13,413</td> + <td align='right'>16,203</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td></td> + <td align='right'>----------</td> + <td align='right'>----------</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Total<br /> </td> + <td align='right'>457,875</td> + <td align='right'>808,670</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <th align='left'>2. <i>Army of First Reserve</i>.</th> + <th> </th> + <th> </th> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Troops of the line</td> + <td align='right'>80,455</td> + <td align='right'>74,561</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Garrison in regiments</td> + <td align='right'>80,455</td> + <td align='right'>23,470</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Garrison in battalions</td> + <td align='right'>19,830</td> + <td align='right'>29,862</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td></td> + <td align='right'>----------</td> + <td align='right'>----------</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Total<br /> </td> + <td align='right'>100,285</td> + <td align='right'>127,925</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <th align='left'>3. <i>Army of Second Reserve</i>.</th> + <th> </th> + <th> </th> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Troops of all arms</td> + <td align='right'>254,036</td> + <td align='right'>199,380</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td></td> + <td align='right'>----------</td> + <td align='right'>------------</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> General total</td> + <td align='right'>812,096</td> + <td align='right'>1,135,975</td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<p> +Among the irregular troops of Russia, the most important are the +Cossacks. The country of the Don Cossacks contains from 600,000 to +700,000 inhabitants. In case of necessity, every Cossack, from 15 to +60 years, is bound to render military service. The usual regular +military force, however, consists of 54 cavalry regiments, each +numbering 1,044 men, making a total of 56,376. The Cossacks are +reckoned in round numbers as follows: +</p> + +<table cellspacing="3" cellpadding="3" +summary="Nominal strength of the Cossacks circa 1870"> +<tr> + <th align='left'> </th> + <th align='left'>Heads.</th> + <th align='center'>In Military<br />service.</th> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'>On the Black Sea</td> + <td align='right'>125,000</td> + <td align='right'>18,000</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'>Great Russian Cossacks on the Caucasian Line</td> + <td align='right'>150,000</td> + <td align='right'>18,000</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'>Don Cossacks</td> + <td align='right'>440,000</td> + <td align='right'>66,000</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'>Ural Cossacks</td> + <td align='right'>50,000</td> + <td align='right'>8,000</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'>Orenburg Cossacks</td> + <td align='right'>60,000</td> + <td align='right'>10,000</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'>Siberian Cossacks</td> + <td align='right'>50,000</td> + <td align='right'>9,000</td> +</tr> + +<tr> + <td></td> + <td align='right'>----------</td> + <td align='right'>----------</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='left'> Total</td> + <td align='right'>875,000</td> + <td align='right'>129,000</td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<p> +The Russian navy consists of two great divisions—the fleet of the +Baltic and that of the Black Sea. Each of these two fleets is again +subdivided into sections, of which three are in or near the Baltic and +three in or near the Black Sea, to which must be added the small +squadrons of galleys, gunboats, and similar vessels. +</p><p> +According to an official report, the Russian fleet consisted last year +of 290 steamers, having 38,000 horse power, with 2,205 guns, besides +29 sailing vessels, with 65 guns. The greater and more formidable part +of this navy was stationed in the Baltic. The Black Sea fleet numbered +43; the Caspian, 39; the Siberian or Pacific, 30; and the Lake Aral or +Turkistan squadron, 11 vessels. The rest of the ships were either +stationed at Kronstadt and Sweaborg or engaged in cruising in European +waters. +</p><p> +The iron-clad fleet of war consisted, at the commencement of 1868, of +24 vessels, with an aggregate of 149 guns, as follows: +</p> + +<table cellspacing='3' cellpadding='3' +summary='Gun compliment of the iron-clad fleet of Russia circa 1870'> +<tr> + <td align='right'>2</td> + <td align='left'>Frigates, one of 18, and one of 24 guns</td> + <td align='right'>42 guns.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='right'>3</td> + <td align='left'>Floating Batteries of 14, 16, and 27 guns</td> + <td align='right'>57 guns.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='right'>2</td> + <td align='left'>Corvettes of 8 guns</td> + <td align='right'>16 guns.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='right'>6</td> + <td align='left'>Monitors of 2 guns each</td> + <td align='right'>12 guns.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='right'>11</td> + <td align='left'>Turret ships of 2 guns each</td> + <td align='right'>22 guns.</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='right'>---</td> + <td> </td> + <td align='right'>------------</td> +</tr> +<tr> + <td align='right'>Total, 24</td> + <td align='left'>iron-clads with</td> + <td align='right'>149 guns.</td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<p> +The Imperial navy was manned at the beginning of 1868 by 60,230 +sailors and marines, under the command of 3,791 officers, among whom +are 119 admirals and generals.</p> +</div> + +<p>I had a letter to Colonel Molostoff, the brother of a Siberian friend +and <i>compagnon du voyage</i>. I knew the colonel would not be at home on +the first day of the year, as he had many relatives and friends to +visit. So I sent the letter to his house, and accompanied Schmidt on a +call upon Dr. Freeze, a prominent physician of Kazan. Madam Freeze was +a native of Heidelburg, and evidently loved the Rhine better than the +Volga. She gave me a letter to her brother in Moscow, where she +promised me an introduction to a niece of the poet Goethe.</p> + +<p>In the evening Colonel Molostoff called at the hotel and took me to +the New Year’s ball of the nobility of Kazan. There was a maze of +apartments belonging to the nobility club,—the dancing room being +quite as elegant and as spacious as the large hall of the Fifth Avenue +Hotel. I found files of English, French, and German papers in the +reading-room, and spent a little while over the latest news from +America. The male portion of the assemblage consisted of officers and +civilians, the former in the majority. There was a perfect blaze of +stars and gay uniforms, that quite outshone the evening dress of the +civilians. As Kazan is old, populous, and wealthy, it is needless to +add that the ladies were dressed just like those of St. Petersburg or +Paris.</p> + +<p>I was introduced to several officials, among them the governor, who +had recently assumed command. Colonel Molostoff introduced me to three +ladies who spoke English, but hardly had I opened conversation with +the first before she was whisked away into the dance. The second and +the third followed the same fate, and I began to look upon ball-room +acquaintance as an uncertainty.</p> + +<p>“Now,” said the colonel, “I will introduce you to one who is not +young, but she is charming, and does not dance.” We went to seek her, +but she was in the midst of a gay party just preparing for a visit to +the lunch room.</p> + +<p>I was so utterly wearied after my long ride that conversation was a +great effort, and I could hardly keep my eyes from closing. I had +promised to join a supper party at three o’clock, but midnight found +me just able to stand. Fearful that I might bring discredit upon +America by going to sleep during the festivities, I begged an excuse +and returned to my hotel. Five minutes after entering my room I was in +the land of dreams.</p> + +<p>In the treasury of the Kremlin of Moscow the royal crown of Kazan is +preserved. The descendants of Genghis Khan founded the city and made +it the seat of their European power. For three centuries it remained a +menace to Russia, and held the princes of Muscovy in fear and dread. +But as the Russians grew in strength Kazan became weaker, and +ultimately fell under the Muscovite control. Ivan the Terrible +determined to drive the Tartars from the banks of the Volga. After +three severe and disastrous campaigns, and a siege in which assailant +and assailed displayed prodigies of valor, Kazan was stormed and +captured. The kingdom was overthrown, and the Russian power extended +to the Urals. The cruelties of Ivan the Terrible were partially +forgiven in return for his breaking the Tartar yoke.</p> + +<p>A pyramidal monument marks the burial place of the Russians who fell +at the capture of the city, and the positions of the besiegers are +still pointed out; but I believe no traces of the circumvallation are +visible. The walls of the Tartar fortress form a part of the present +Kremlin, but have been so rebuilt and enlarged that their distinctive +character is gone.</p> + +<p>Nicholas called Kazan the third capital of his empire, and the city is +generally admitted first in importance after St. Petersburg and +Moscow. Its position is well chosen on the banks of a small river, the +Kazanka, which joins the Volga six versts away. On a high bluff +stretching into a plateau in the rear of the city and frowning +defiantly toward the west, its position is a commanding one. On the +edge of this bluff is the Kremlin, with its thick and high walls +enclosing the governor’s palace and other public buildings, all +overlooked by a lofty bell-tower. Every part of the city gives +evidence of wealth.</p> + +<p>The population is about sixty thousand, including, I presume, the +military garrison. There are twelve or fifteen thousand Tartars, who +live in a quarter of the city specially assigned them. They are said +to be industrious and peaceful, and some of them have amassed great +wealth. I saw a Tartar merchant at the ball on New Year’s eve, and was +told that his fortune was one of the best in Kazan. I can testify +personally to the energy of Tartar peddlers. On my first morning at +the hotel I was visited by itinerant dealers in hats, boots, dressing +gowns, and other articles of wear. The Tartars at Moscow are no less +active than their brethren of Kazan, and very shrewd in their +dealings. Every one of them appears to believe that strangers visit +Russia for the sole purpose of buying dressing gowns.</p> + +<p>I took a drive through the Tartar quarter, or <i>Katai Gorod</i>, of Kazan, +and inspected (but did not read) the signs over the shops. The houses +are little different from those in the Russian quarter, and the +general appearance of the streets was the same. I glanced at several +female faces in defiance of Mohammedan law, which forbids women +unveiling before strangers. On one occasion when no Tartar men were +visible, a young and pretty woman removed her veil and evidently +desired to be looked at. I satisfied my curiosity, and expressed +admiration in all the complimentary Russian adjectives I could +remember.</p> + +<p>As we passed a butcher’s shop, my isvoshchik intimated that horse meat +was sold there. The Tartars are fond of equine flesh, and prefer it to +beef. On the Kirghese steppes the horse is prominent in gastronomic +festivities.</p> + +<p>Kazan is famous throughout Russia for the extent and variety of its +manufactures. Russians and Tartars are alike engaged in them, and the +products of their industry bear a good reputation. The city has +printing establishments on an extensive scale, one of them devoted to +Tartar literature. Several editions of the Koran have been printed +here for the faithful in Northern and Central Asia.</p> + +<p>The University of Kazan is one of the most celebrated institutions of +learning in Russia, and has an excellent board of professors. Special +attention is devoted to the Asiatic languages and literature, but no +other branch of knowledge is neglected. I met the Professor of +Persian literature, and found him speaking English and French +fluently. I was invited to look through the museum and cabinet +attached to the university, but time did not permit. There is a +ladies’ seminary in equally good reputation for its educational +facilities.</p> + +<p>One morning, about two weeks before my arrival at Kazan, the early +risers passing this seminary discovered the body of a young man +hanging upon the fence. It was clad only in a shirt, and no other +clothing could be found. No one recognized the features of the +individual, and the occupants of the seminary professed utter +ignorance of the affair. As might be expected, great excitement +followed the discovery. Visits of the sterner sex were absolutely +forbidden, and the young maidens in the building were placed under +surveillance. The gentleman who told me the story, said:</p> + +<p>“It is very strange, especially as the public can learn nothing about +the young man’s identity.”</p> + +<p>While conversing with a high official at Nijne Novgorod, a few days +later, I referred to this affair and expressed my surprise that the +police could not trace it out.</p> + +<p>“That is to say,” he replied, with a shrug of the shoulders, “that the +police have suppressed the particulars. It is a scandalous occurrence +that may as well be kept from the public.”</p> + +<p>One thing was quite certain: if the police thought proper to conceal +the details of this affair, there was no likelihood of their +publication. In Russia the police exercise a power much greater than +in the United States. Those who have visited France and Austria can +form a pretty correct idea of the Russian system, the three countries +being nearly alike in this respect. The police has supervision over +the people in a variety of ways; controls the fire department, looks +after the general health, and provides for the well-being of society. +Every man, woman, and child is considered under its surveillance, and +accounted for by some member of the force. Passports are examined by +the police, and if <i>en regle</i>, the owners are not likely to be +troubled. Taxes are collected, quarrels adjusted, and debts paid +through its agency.</p> + +<p>Almost everybody has heard of the secret police of Russia, and many +questions have been asked me about it. I cannot throw much light upon +it, and if I could it would not be a secret police. I never knowingly +came in contact with the shadow, neither did I have the slightest +reason to fear it. If my letters were opened and read, those familiar +with my manuscript will agree that the police had a hard time of it. +If anybody dogged my steps or drew me into conversation to report my +opinions at the <i>bureau secret</i>, I never knew it. The servants who +brought my cutlets and tea, the woman who washed my linen, or the +dvornik who guarded the door, may have been spies upon me; but, if so, +I didn’t see it. Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise.</p> + +<p>People talk politics in Russia with apparent freedom, more so than I +expected to find. Men and women expressed their opinions with candor +(as I believe,) and criticised what they saw wrong in their +government. The Russian journals possess more freedom than those of +Paris, and the theatres can play pretty nearly what they like. +Official tyranny or dishonesty can be shown up by the press or +satirized on the stage more freely and safely than in the country of +Napoleon Third, with all its boasted freedom.</p> + +<p>I once read a story in which an Englishman in Austria is represented +saying to his companion, “No gentleman meddles with the politics of +the countries he visits.” I made it my rule in Russia never to start +the subject of politics in conversation with anybody. Very often it +was started, and I then spoke as freely as I would have spoken in New +York. If my opinion was asked upon any point, I gave it frankly, but +never volunteered it. I believe the Golden Rule a good one for a +traveler. We Americans would think it very rude for a foreigner to +come here and point out to us our faults. But for all that, a great +many of us visit Europe and have no hesitation in telling the subjects +of the various monarchies a variety of impolite truths. During the +reign of Nicholas, the secret police was much more extensive than at +present. The occurrences of 1825 and subsequent years led to a close +surveillance of men in all stations of life. It was said under +Nicholas that when three men were assembled, one was a spy and another +might be. Doubtless the espionage was rigid, but I never heard that it +affected those who said or did nothing objectionable. Under Alexander +II. the stability of the throne hardly requires the aid of a detective +force, and, if what I was told be true, it receives very little.</p> + +<p>The police have a standing order to arrest any person who speaks to +the Emperor in the promenade at the Public Garden. One day Nicholas +recognized in the crowd a favorite comedian, and accosted him with a +few words of encouragement. The actor thanked his majesty for his +approval, and the two separated. A stupid policeman arrested the +actor, and hurried him to prison on the charge of violating the law.</p> + +<p>“But the emperor spoke to me first,” was the apology.</p> + +<p>“No matter,” replied the policeman; “you spoke to the emperor, and +must be arrested.”</p> + +<p>At the theatre that evening Nicholas was in the imperial box, utterly +ignorant of what had occurred to his favorite. The performance was +delayed, the audience impatient, manager frantic, and the emperor +finally sent to know the cause of the curtain remaining down. The +actor did not come, and after waiting some time, His Majesty went +home. Next morning the prisoner was released, and during the day the +emperor learned what had occurred. Sending for the victim of police +stupidity, he asked what reparation could be made for his night in +prison.</p> + +<p>“I beg your majesty,” was the frank request, “never to speak to me +again in the Public Garden.”</p> + +<p>Nicholas promised compliance. He also made a pecuniary testimonial at +the comedian’s next benefit.</p> + +<hr /> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_LI'></a><h2>CHAPTER LI.</h2></div> + + +<p>Dr. Schmidt sold his sleigh and left Kazan by diligence the day after +our arrival. I remained four days, and, when ready to start, managed +to pick up a young Russian who was going to Nijne Novgorod. Each of us +spoke two languages, but we had no common tongue. I brushed up all the +Russian I had learned, and compelled it to perform very active +service. Before our companionship ended I was astonished to find what +an extensive business of conversation could be conducted with a +limited capital of words.</p> + +<p>Our communications were fragmentary and sometimes obscure, but we +rarely became “hopelessly stuck.” When my knowledge of spoken words +failed I had recourse to a “Manual of Russian-English conversation,” +in which there were phrases on all sorts of topics. Examining the book +at leisure one would think it abundantly fertile; but when I desired a +particular phrase it was rarely to be found. As a last resource we +tried Latin, but I could not remember a hundred words out of all my +classics.</p> + +<p>A regular thaw had set in, and the streets were in a condition of +‘slosh’ that reminded me of Broadway in spring. When we left the +hotel, a crowd of attendants gathered to be remembered pecuniarily. +The yemshick tied his horses’ tails in the tightest of knots to +prevent their filling with snow and water. At the western gate we +found a jam of sleds and sleighs, where we stuck for nearly half an +hour, despite the efforts of two soldier policemen. When able to +proceed we traversed a high causeway spanning the Kazanka valley and +emerged into a suburb containing a large foundry. A mosque and a +church, side by side, symbolized the harmony between Tartar and +Russian.</p> + +<p>Passing this suburb we reached the winter station of many steamboats +and barges, among which we threaded our way. Seven versts from Kazan +we reached the bank of the Volga.</p> + +<p>The first view of the road upon the river was not inviting. There were +many pools of surface water, and the continuous travel had worn deep +hollows in the snow and ice. Some of the pools into which our yemshick +drove appeared about as safe as a mill-pond in May. As the fellow +ought to know his route I said nothing, and let him have his own way. +We met a great many sleds carrying merchandise, and passed a train +going in our direction. One driver carelessly riding on his load was +rolled overboard, and fell sidewise into a deep mass of snow and +water. He uttered an imprecation, and rose dripping like a boiled +cabbage just lifted out of a dinner pot.</p> + +<p>We headed obliquely across the river toward a dozen tow-boats frozen +in the ice. The navigation of the Volga employs more than four hundred +steamers, three-fourths of which are tows. Dead walls in Kazan +frequently displayed flaming announcements, that reminded me of St. +Louis and New Orleans. The companies run a sharp rivalry in freight +and passenger traffic, their season lasting from April to October. The +gross receipts for 1866 of one company owning thirty-four boats, was +one million, two hundred and fifty-three thousand, and some odd +roubles. This, after deducting running expenses, would not leave a +large amount of profit. The surplus in the case of that company was to +be applied to paying debts. “Not a copeck,” said my informant, “will +the stockholders receive in the shape of dividends.”</p> + +<p>I did not obtain any full and clear information touching the +navigation of the Volga. The steamboats run from Tver, on the Moscow +and St. Petersburg railway, to Astrachan, at the mouth of the river. +The best part of the business is the transport of goods and +passengers,—chiefly the former,—to the fair at Nijne Novgorod. The +river is full of shifting sand-bars, and the channel is very +tortuous, especially at low water. The first company to introduce +steam on the Volga was an English one. Its success induced many +Russians to follow its example, so that the business is now over done.</p> + +<p>Here, as in the Siberian rivers, the custom prevails of carrying +freight in barges, which are towed by tugs. All the steamers I saw +were side-wheelers.</p> + +<p>We changed horses on the south bank of the Volga, only twelve versts +from Kazan. The right bank of the river presents an unbroken line of +hills or bluffs, while the opposite one is generally low. The summer +road from Kazan westward follows the high ground in the vicinity of +the river, but often several versts away. The winter road is over the +ice of the Volga, keeping generally pretty near the bank. A double +line of pine or other boughs in the ice marks the route. These boughs +are placed by the Administration of Roads, under whose supervision the +way is daily examined. No one is allowed to travel on the ice until +the officials declare it safe.</p> + +<p>Night came upon us soon after passing the first station. The road was +a combination of pitch-holes, water, soft snow, and detours to avoid +dangerous places. The most unpleasant drives were when we left the +river to change horses at the villages on the high bank. It was well +enough going up, but in descending the sleigh sometimes endeavored to +go ahead of the horses. Once we came near going over a perpendicular +bank sixty or eighty feet high. Had we done so, our establishment +would have not been worth fifty cents a bushel at the bottom of the +bank.</p> + +<p>Back from the Volga on this part of the route there were many villages +of Cheramess, a people of Tartar descent who preserve many of their +ancient customs. They are thoroughly loyal to Russia, and keep the +portrait of the emperor in nearly every cottage. In accordance with +their custom of veiling women they hang a piece of gauze over the +picture of the empress. While changing horses, we were beset by many +beggars, whose forlorn appearance entitled them to sympathy. I +purchased a number of blessings, as each beggar made the sign of the +cross over me on receiving a copeck. Russian beggars are the most +devout I ever saw, and display great familiarity with the calendar of +saints. One morning at Kazan I stood at my hotel window watching a +beggar woman soliciting alms. Several poorly dressed peasants gave her +each a copeck or two, and both giver and receiver made the sign of the +cross. One decrepid old man gave her a loaf of bread, blessing it +devoutly as he placed it in her hands. So far as I saw not a single +well dressed person paid any attention to the mendicant. ‘Only the +poor can feel for the poor.’</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg607-1.gif' id='xlg607-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>BEGGARS IN KAZAN.</p></div> + +<p>We encountered a great deal of merchandise, carried invariably upon, +one-horse sleds. Cotton, and wool in large sacks were the principal +freight going westward, while that moving toward Kazan was of a +miscellaneous character. The yemshicks were the worst I found on the +whole extent of my sleigh ride. They generally contented themselves +with the regulation speed, and it was not often that the promise of +drink-money affected them. I concluded that money was more easily +obtained here than elsewhere on the route. Ten copecks were an +important item to a yemshick in Siberia, but of little consequence +along the Volga.</p> + +<p>Villages were numerous along the Volga, and most of them were very +liberally supplied with churches. We passed Makarief, which was for +many years the scene of the great fair of European Russia. Fire and +flood alike visited the place, and in 1816 the fair was transferred to +Nijne Novgorod. One of the villages has a church spire that leans +considerably toward the edge of the river.</p> + +<p>About fifty versts from Nijne Novgorod the population of a large +village was gathered, in Sunday dress, upon the ice. A baptism was in +progress, and as we drove past the assemblage we caught a glimpse of a +man plunging through a freshly cut hole. Half a minute later he +emerged from the crowd and ran toward the nearest house, the water +dripping from his garments and hair. As we passed around the end of +the village, I looked back and saw another person running in the same +direction.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/lg608-1.gif' id='lg608-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>THE IMMERSION.</p></div> + +<p>Converts to the Russian church are baptized by immersion, and, once +received in its bosom, they continue members until death do them part. +What I have said of the church in Siberia will apply throughout all +Russia. The government is far more tolerant in the matter of religion +than that of any Roman Catholic country in Europe, and might reprove +Great Britain pretty sharply for its religious tyrannies in unhappy +Ireland. Every one in Russia can worship God according to the dictates +of his own conscience, provided he does not shock the moral sense of +civilization in so doing. Every respectable form of Christian worship +enjoys full liberty, and so does every respectable form of paganism +and anti-Christianity. The Greek faith is the acknowledged religion of +the government, and the priests, by virtue of their partly official +character, naturally wield considerable power. The abuse or undue +employment of that power is not (theoretically) permitted, however +much the church may manifest its zeal. Every effort is made to convert +unbelievers, but no man is forced to accept the Greek faith.</p> + +<p>Traveling through Russia one may see many forms of worship. He will +find the altars of Shamanism, the temples of Bhudha, the mosques of +Islam, and the synagogues of Israel. On one single avenue of the +Russian capital he will pass in succession the churches of the Greek, +the Catholic, the Armenian, the Lutheran, and the Episcopal faith. He +will be told that among the native Russians there are nearly fifty +sects of greater or less importance. There are some advantages in +belonging to the church of state, just as in England, but they are not +essential. I am acquainted with officers in the military, naval, and +civil service of the government who are not, and never have been, +members of the Greek church. I never heard any intimation that their +religion had been the least bar to their progress.</p> + +<p>The Pope, in his encyclical of October, 1867, complains of the conduct +of the Russian government toward the Catholics in Poland. No doubt +Alexander has played the mischief with the Pope’s faithful in that +quarter, but not on account of their religion. In Warsaw a Russian +officer, a Pole by birth, told me of the misfortunes that had fallen +upon the Catholic monastery and college in that city. “We found in the +insurrection,” said the officer, “that the monks were engaged in +making knives, daggers, cartridges, and other weapons. The priests +were the active men of the rebellion, and did more than any other +class to urge it forward, and here is a specimen of iron-mongery from +the hands of the monks. We found two hundred of these in the college +recently suppressed. Many more were distributed and used.”</p> + +<p>As he spoke he opened a drawer and showed me a short dagger fitting +into a small handle. The point of the blade had been dipped in poison, +and was carefully wrapped in paper. The instrument was used by +sticking it into somebody in a crowd, and allowing it to remain. Death +was pretty certain from a very slight scratch of this weapon.</p> + +<p>If this gentleman’s story is correct, and it was corroborated by +others, the Russian persecution of the Polish Catholics is not +entirely without reason.</p> + +<p>Among the dissenters in the Greek church there is a body called +<i>Staroviersty</i> (Old Believers). The difference between them and the +adherents of the orthodox faith is more ritualistic than doctrinal. +Both make the sign of the cross, though each has its own way of +holding the fingers in the operation. The Staroviersty do not use +tobacco in any form, and their mode of life is generally quite rigid. +Under Catherine and Paul they were persecuted, and, as a matter of +course, increased their numbers rapidly. For the past sixty years +oppression has been removed, and they have done pretty nearly as they +liked. They are found in all parts of the empire, but are most +numerous in the vicinity of the Ural mountains.</p> + +<p>Russia has its share of fanatical sects, some of whom push their +religion to a wonderful extreme. One sect has a way of sacrificing +children by a sort of slow torture in no way commendable. Another sect +makes a burnt offering of some of its adherents, who are selected by +lot. They enter a house prepared for the occasion, and begin a service +of singing and prayer. After a time spent in devotions, the building +is set on fire and consumed with its occupants. Another sect which is +mentioned elsewhere practices the mutilation of masculine believers, +and steals children for adoption into their families. Against all +these fanatics the government exercises its despotic power.</p> + +<p>The peasants are generally very devout, and keep all the days of the +church with becoming reverence. There is a story that a moujik waylaid +and killed a traveler, and while rifling the pockets of his victim +found a cake containing meat. Though very hungry he would not eat the +cake, because meat was forbidden in the fast then in force.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/lg611-1.gif' id='lg611-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>RUSSIAN PRIEST.</p> +</div> + +<p>The government is endeavoring to diminish the power and influence of +the priests, and the number of saints’ days, when men must abstain +from, labor. Heretofore the priests have enjoyed the privilege of +recruiting the clergy from their own members. When a village priest +died his office fell to his son, and if he had no male heir the +revenues went to his eldest daughter until some priest married her and +took charge of the parish. By special order of the emperor any +vacancy is hereafter to be filled by the most deserving candidate.</p> + +<p>It is said that during the Crimean war the governor of Moscow notified +the pastor of the English church in that city that the prayer for the +success of Her Brittanic Majesty’s armies must be omitted. The pastor +appealed to the emperor, who replied that prayers of regular form +might continue to be read, no matter what they contained. The governor +made no further interference.</p> + +<p>About three o’clock in the afternoon of the second day from Kazan, the +yemshick pointed out the spires of Nijne Novgorod, on the southern +bank of the Volga. A fleet of steamers, barges, and soudnas lay sealed +in the ice along the shore, waiting for the moving of the waters. The +road to the north bank was marked with pine boughs, that fringed the +moving line of sleighs and sledges. We threaded our way among the +stationary vessels, and at length came before the town. A friend had +commended me to the Hotel de la Poste, and I ordered the yemshick to +drive there. With an eye to his pocket the fellow carried me to an +establishment of the same name on the other side of the Oka. I had a +suspicion that I was being swindled, but as they blandly informed me +that no other hotel with that title existed, I alighted and ordered my +baggage up.</p> + +<p>This was the end of my sleigh ride. I had passed two hundred and nine +stations, with as many changes of horses and drivers. Nearly seven +hundred horses had been attached to my sleigh, and had drawn me over a +road of greatly varied character. Out of forty days from Irkutsk, I +spent sixteen at the cities and towns on the way. I slept twenty-six +nights in my sleigh with the thermometer varying from thirty-five +degrees above zero to forty-five below, and encountered four severe +storms and a variety of smaller ones. Including the detour to +Barnaool, my sleigh ride was about thirty-six hundred miles long. From +Stratensk by way of Kiachta to Irkutsk, I traveled not far from +fourteen hundred miles with wheeled vehicles, and made ninety-three +changes. My whole ride from steam navigation on the Amoor to the +railway at Nijne Novgorod was very nearly five thousand miles.</p> + +<p>There was a manifest desire to swindle me at the bogus Hotel de la +Poste. Half a dozen attendants carried my baggage to my room, and each +demanded a reward. When I gave the yemshick his “na vodka,” an +officious attendant suggested that the gentleman should be very +liberal at the end of his ride. I asked for a bath, and they ordered a +sleigh to take me to a bathing establishment several squares away. My +proposition to be content for the present with a wash basin was +pronounced impossible, until I finished the argument with my left +boot. The waiter finally became affectionate, and when I ordered +supper he suggested comforts not on the bill of fare. The landlord +proposed to purchase my sleigh and superfluous furs, and we concluded +a bargain at less than a twelfth of their cost.</p> + +<p>After a night’s rest I recrossed the Oka and drove to the town. Here I +found the veritable Hotel de la Poste, to which I immediately changed +my quarters. The house overlooked a little park enclosing a pond, +where a hundred or more persons were skating. The park was well +shaded, and must be quite pleasant in summer. The town hardly deserves +the name of Nijne (Lower) Novgorod, as it stands on a bluff nearly two +hundred feet above the river. Its lower town contains little else than +small shops, storehouses, poor hotels, and steamboat offices. The +Kremlin, or fortress, looks down from a very picturesque position, and +its strong walls have a defiant air. From the edge of the bluff the +view is wide; the low field and forest land on the opposite side of +the river, the sinuous Volga and its tributary, the Oka, are all +visible for a long distance. Opposite, on a tongue of land between the +Volga and the Oka, is the scene of the fair of Nijne Novgorod, the +greatest, I believe, in the world.</p> + +<p>There are many fine houses in the upper town, with indications of +considerable wealth. I had a letter of introduction to the Chief of +Police, Colonel Kretegin, who kindly showed me the principal objects +of interest in and around the Kremlin. The monument to the memory of +Minin Sukhoruky possessed the greatest historical importance. This +man, a peasant and butcher, believed himself called to deliver Russia +from the Poles in 1612. He awakened his countrymen, and joined a +Russian noble in leading them to expel the invaders. A bronze monument +at Moscow represents Minin starting on his mission. The memorial at +Nijne is of a less elaborate character.</p> + +<p>We drove through the fair grounds, which wore as empty of occupants as +Goldsmith’s deserted village. It is laid out like a regular town or +city, and most of its houses are substantially built. So much has been +written about this commercial center that I will not attempt its +description, especially as I was not there in fair season. The +population of the town—ordinarily forty thousand—becomes three +hundred thousand during the fair. More than half a million persons +have visited the city in a single summer, and the value of goods sold +or exchanged during each fair is about two hundred millions of +roubles.</p> + +<p>Colonel Kretegin told me that the members of the Fox embassy were much +astonished at finding American goods for sale at Nijne Novgorod. It +would be difficult to mention any part of the civilized world where +some article of our manufacture has not penetrated.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_614'></a> +<img src="images/sm614-1.gif" id='sm614-1' class='ig001' +alt="TAIL PIECE" /> +</div> + +<div class='em4'></div> + +<div class='chapter'><a name='CHAPTER_LII'></a><h2>CHAPTER LII.</h2></div> + + +<p>At the close of the second day at Nijne Novgorod I started for Moscow. +As we drove from the hotel to the railway the jackdaws, perched +everywhere on the roofs, were unusually noisy. Leaving Asia and +entering Europe, the magpie seemed to give place to the jackdaw. The +latter bird inhabits the towns and cities east of the Ural mountains, +and we frequently saw large flocks searching the debris along the +Volga road. He associates freely with the pigeon, and appears well +protected by public sentiment. Possibly his uneatable character and +his fancied resemblance to the pigeon saves him from being knocked in +the head. Pigeons are very abundant in all Russian cities, and their +tameness is a matter of remark among foreign visitors.</p> + +<p>The railway station is across the Oka and near the site of the annual +fair. We went at a smashing pace down hill and over the ice to the +other side, narrowly missing several collisions. At the railway I fell +to the charge of two porters, who carried my baggage while I sought +the ticket office. A young woman speaking French officiated at the +desk, and furnished me with a <i>billet de voyage</i> to Moscow.</p> + +<p>In the waiting room a hundred or more persons were gathered. The men +were well wrapped in furs, and among the ladies hoods were more +numerous than bonnets. Three-fourths of the males and a third of the +females were smoking cigarettes, and there was no prohibition visible. +In accordance with the national taste the chief article sold at the +<i>buffet</i> was hot tea in tumblers.</p> + +<p>Some one uttered “Sibeerski” as, clad in my dehar, I walked past a +little group. To keep up appearances and kill time I drank tea, until +the door opened and a rush was made for the train. There is an adage +in Germany that three kinds of people—fools, princes, and +Americans—travel first class. To continue Russian pretences, and by +the advice of a friend, I took a second class ticket, and found the +accommodation better than the average of first class cars in America.</p> + +<p>How strange was the sensation of railway travel! Since I last +experienced it, I had journeyed more than half around the globe. I had +been tossed on the Pacific and adjacent waters, had ascended the great +river of northern Asia, had found the rough way of life along the +frozen roads beyond the Baikal, and ended with that long, long ride +over Siberian snows. I looked back through a long vista of earth and +snow, storm and sunshine, starlight and darkness, rolling sea and +placid river, rugged mountains and extended plains.</p> + +<p>The hardships of travel were ended as I reached the land of railways, +and our motion as we sped along the track seemed more luxurious than +ever before. Contrasted with the cramped and narrow sleigh, pitching +over ridges and occasionally overturning, the carriage where I sat +appeared the perfection of locomotive skill. How sweet is pleasure +after pain. Sunshine is brightest in the morning, and prosperity has a +keener zest when it follows adversity. To be truly enjoyed, our lives +must be chequered with light and shadow, and varied with different +scenes.</p> + +<p>The railway between Nijne Novgorod and Moscow is about two hundred and +fifty miles in length, and was built by French and Russian capital +combined. There is only one passenger train each way daily, at a speed +not exceeding twenty miles an hour.</p> + +<p>In the compartment where I sat there was a young French woman, +governess in a family at Simbirsk, with a Russian female servant +accompanying her. The governess was chatty, and invited me to join her +in a feast of bon-bons, which she devoured at a prodigious rate. The +servant was becomingly silent, and solaced herself with cigarettes. +The restaurants along the road are quite well supplied, especially +those where full meals are provided. Two hours after starting we +halted ten minutes for tea and cigarettes. Two hours later we had +thirty minutes for supper, which was all ready at our arrival. About +midnight we stopped at the ancient city of Vladimir, where there is a +cathedral founded in the twelfth century. Stepping from the train to +get a night glimpse of the place, I found a substantial supper (or +breakfast) spread for consumption. In justice to the Russians, I am +happy to say very few patronized this midnight table.</p> + +<p>At daybreak I rubbed the frost from a window and looked upon a stretch +of snow and frost, with peasant cottages few and far between. An hour +later, our speed slackened. Again cleaning the glass and peering +through it, a large city came in sight.</p> + +<p>It was Moscow,—“Holy Moscow,”—the city of the Czars, and beloved of +every Russian. Suffering through Tartar, Polish, and French +occupations, it has survived pillage, massacre, fire, and famine, and +remains at this day the most thoroughly national of the great cities +of the empire. The towers and domes of its many churches glittered in +the morning sunlight as they glittered half a century ago, when +Napoleon and his soldiers first climbed the hills that overlook the +city.</p> + +<p>It was a long drive from the station to the hotel. The morning was +clear and cold, and the snow in the streets had been ground into a +sand-like mass several inches deep. The solid foundation beneath was +worn with hollows and ridges, that vividly recalled the oukhabas of +the post road. Streets were full of sleds and sleighs, the latter +dashing at a rapid rate. In the region near the station there were so +many signs of ‘<i>Trakteer</i>’ as to suggest the possibility of one half +the inhabitants selling tea, beer, and quass to the other half. Near +the center of the city the best shops displayed signs in French or +English, generally the former.</p> + +<p>Of course I went early to the Kremlin. Who has ever read or talked of +Moscow without its historic fortress? Entering by the Sacred Gate, I +lifted my hat in comformity to the custom, from which not even the +emperor is exempt. One of my school-books contained a description of +the Czar Kolokol, or Great Bell, and stated that a horse and chaise +could pass through the hole where a piece was broken from one side. +Possibly the miniature vehicle of Tom Thumb could be driven through, +but, certainly, no ordinary one-horse shay could have any prospect of +success. The hole is six feet in height, by about a yard wide at the +bottom, and narrows like a wedge toward the top. The height and +diameter of the bell are respectively nineteen feet four inches by +twenty feet three inches. It weighs 444,000 pounds. It was cast in +1733, by order of the Empress Anne, and the hole in its side was made +by the falling of some rafters during a fire in 1737. It remained +buried in the ground until 1836, when it was raised and placed on its +present pedestal by order of the Emperor Nicholas.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id001'> +<img src='images/xlg618-1.gif' id='xlg618-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>GREAT BELL OF MOSCOW.</p></div> + +<p>To enumerate all the wonders of the Kremlin would consume much time +and space. Somebody tells of a Yankee gazing at Niagara, and lamenting +that a magnificent water power should run to waste. I could not help +wondering how many miles of railway could be built from the proceeds +of the mass of wealth inside the Kremlin. Diamonds, rubies, pearls, +crowns, sceptres, thrones, princely and priestly robes, are gathered +in such numbers that eye and brain become weary in their +contemplation. The most interesting of these treasures are those +around which cling historic associations. The crowns of the kingdoms +of Kazan and Astrachan point to the overthrow of Tartar power in +Europe, while the throne of Poland symbolizes the westward course of +the Muscovite star of empire. There are flags borne or captured in +Russia’s victories, from the storming of Kazan and the defence of +Albazin down to the suppression of Polish revolt. Mute and dumb +witnesses of the misfortunes of the <i>Grand Armee</i> are the long rows of +cannon that lie near the Kremlin palace. Three hundred and sixty-five +French guns tell of Napoleon’s disastrous march to Moscow.</p> + +<p>The holiest part of holy Moscow is within the Kremlin. In the church +of the Assumption, the czars of Russia, from John the Terrible down to +the present day, have been crowned. In the Michael church, until the +accession of Peter the Great, the Rurik and Romanoff dynasties were +buried; while another church witnessed their baptism, and marriage. +What a wonderful amount of gold and jewels are visible in the churches +and chapels of the Kremlin! The floor of one is of jasper and agate; +pearl and amethyst and onyx adorn the inner walls of another. One has +vast pillars of porphyry, and the domes and turrets of all are +liberally spread or starred with gold. The pictures of the infant +Saviour and his mother are hung with necklaces of jewels, each of them +almost a fortune. One might easily think that the wealth of Ormuz or +of Ind had been gathered to adorn the shrines of the most oriental +Christian faith.</p> + +<p>I visted the Imperial Theatre, which the Muscovites pronounce the +finest in the world. To my mind it is only equaled by La Scala at +Milan, or San Carlo at Naples. Outside it reminded me of our +<i>ci-devant</i> Academy of Music. Inside it was gorgeous, well arranged, +and spacious.</p> + +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg620-1.gif' id='xlg620-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>VIEW ON THE NEVSKI PROSPECT—ST. PETERSBURG.</p></div> + +<p>The <i>Kitai Gorod,</i> or Chinese town of Moscow, is close by the Kremlin +and outside its walls. The only feature worthy the name of this part +of the city is the number of Tartar inhabitants and the immense +bazaar, or Gustinni Dvor, where the principal trade of Moscow has been +centered for nearly three hundred years. The quantity of goods in the +bazaar is something enormous. A Russian said to me: “If half the +houses in Moscow were stripped of furniture, ornaments, and all things +save the walls and roofs; if their inhabitants were plundered of all +clothing and personal goods except their bank accounts,—the <i>gastinni +dvor</i> could supply every deficiency within two hours. You may enter +the bazaar wearing nothing but your shirt, and can depart in an hour +dressed and decorated in any manner you choose, and riding in your +carriage with driver and footman in livery.”</p> + +<p>The railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow is a government affair, +and forms nearly a direct line from one city to the other. It is said +that the emperor Nicholas placed a ruler on the map and drew a line +from one capital to the other to mark the route the engineers must +follow. Notwithstanding the favorable character of the country the +cost of the road was enormous, in consequence of alleged peculations. +There is a story that the government once wished to make a great +impression upon a Persian embassy. All the marvels of St. Petersburg +and Moscow were exhausted, but the oriental embassadors remained +serene and unmoved.</p> + +<p>“What shall we do to surprise them,” the emperor demanded of his prime +minister.</p> + +<p>“Nothing is better, sire,” replied that official, “than to tell them +the cost of the Imperial railway.”</p> + +<p>One hears more about stealing and bribe taking in Russia than in any +other country I ever visited. The evil is partly on account of low +salaries and great expense of living, and partly due to ancient +custom. The emperor has endeavored to establish a reform in this +particular, but the difficulties are very great because of the secret +character of “palm-greasing,” It is related that a German <i>savant</i> +once remarked to Nicholas that he could do Russia a great service by +breaking up the system of financial corruption. “To get such a project +in action,” replied the emperor, “I must begin by bribing my prime +minister.”</p> + +<p>Of the country between the capitals I saw very little. In the cars the +double windows, covered with frost, were about as transparent as a +drop curtain. We stopped at a great many capacious and well built +stations, where there was abundant opportunity for feeding and +drinking. The journey commenced at two in the afternoon, and was +finished at ten on the following morning. The distance, according to +official measurement, is four hundred and three miles.</p> + +<p>The train halted at the station nearest St. Petersburg, and as we +stood a moment upon the platform, we saw the great, gilded dome of St. +Isaac’s cathedral rising over the city. In St. Petersburg my first +duty was to take breakfast, a bath, and a change of clothes at a +hotel, and then, to drive to the banker’s for letters from home. I had +not seen an American for five months; as I alighted from my droshky, a +well-dressed individual looked at me, and not to be outdone I returned +his glance. Our eyes peered over two fur collars that exposed very +little of our faces. After a moment’s hesitation each of us spoke the +other’s name, and I experienced the double pleasure of meeting in one +individual a countryman and an old friend.</p> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<div class='figcenter id003'> +<a name='ILLUS_622'></a> +<img src='images/lg622-1.gif' id='sm622-1' class='ig001' +alt='TAIL PIECE—MEETING AN OLD FRIEND' /> +</div> + +<div class='em2'></div> + +<p class='center'>THE END.</p> +<div class='em2'></div> +<div class='figcenter id002'> +<img src='images/xlg623-1.gif' id='xlg623-1' class='ig001' alt='' /> +<p>MAP <i>to accompany</i> THOS. W. KNOX’S “Overland through Asia”</p> +</div> +<div class='em4'></div> + + + + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 13806 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/13806-h/images/contents.gif b/13806-h/images/contents.gif Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..c42ef00 --- /dev/null +++ b/13806-h/images/contents.gif diff --git a/13806-h/images/cover.jpg b/13806-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3914ce9 --- /dev/null +++ b/13806-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/13806-h/images/lg022-1.gif b/13806-h/images/lg022-1.gif Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..243d7c9 --- /dev/null +++ b/13806-h/images/lg022-1.gif diff --git a/13806-h/images/lg023-1.gif b/13806-h/images/lg023-1.gif Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..03ee3c7 --- /dev/null +++ b/13806-h/images/lg023-1.gif diff --git a/13806-h/images/lg024-1.gif b/13806-h/images/lg024-1.gif Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..dd2240b 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