In the mean time, having crossed the river Okhota, I arrived without accident to the village of Medvejé-golova, orbear’s-head, which is forty-five wersts from Okotsk, and is inhabited by Russians and Yakouts. I entered very early in the morning, but our dogs were so weary that I was obliged to spend the day and even the night there, being unable to procure a fresh supply.
I had hoped to be at Moundoukan the next day, which is twenty wersts from the preceding ostrog. Half way a part of our dogs refused to draw, and we reluctantly ventured upon a river that seemed to offer us a more commodious way. We had scarcely advanced a few paces, when we heard a sudden crack under our sledges; the next moment I felt myself gently sink,but a piece of ice still kept me up. It broke a second time, and my skates became almost invisible. Every effort to extricate myself would have been fruitless, as the least motion must have carried me forward and plunged me into the water. Fortunately it was only four feet deep; by their exertions, my people at last drew me from my embarassment, but they were nearly as much in want of assistance themselves. Deaf to the remonstrances of my conductors, I was desirous of proceeding, but we soon found it necessary mutually to aid each other in gaining the bank. Meanwhile the snow melted so rapidly, that our dogs paddled in the water without advancing a step, and fell one upon another exhausted with fatigue.
Among my guides was a serjeant, whom M. Kokh had given me for my better security. His reputation for courage and experience led me to consider him as mycompass and guardian, and I kept my eye fixed upon him, observing his motions and studying his countenance, which had hitherto been inflexibly composed. In the midst of the murmurs of the rest of my company, he had not uttered a word nor altered a muscle of his face, so as to discover any emotion. I naturally construed this silence into a disavowal of the fears with which they attempted to fill me, and his tranquillity as an encouragement to go on. Never had my astonishment been greater than to see him suddenly stop, protesting that he would not proceed a step farther. I interrogated him, and urged him to explain himself. “I can no longer be silent,” he answered,“influenced by a sentiment of vanity, and a desire to display superior courage, I have hitherto withheld from giving my opinion respecting the hazardous measure you are desirous of pursuing; but the more I admire your intrepidity, the more I think myself bound to prevent the fatal consequences it may occasion, and to inform you of the many dangers and obstacles that will every instant spring up before you. The majority of the rivers are already disencumbered of their ice, and could you so far succeed as to pass them, you would soon be overtaken and surrounded by the floods. What will then be your resource? To seek an asylum on a mountain or in a forest, if you should be fortunate enough to meet with one. Like the inhabitants[51]of these cantons in such circumstances, can you build yourself a cabin on the tops of the trees, there to remain a fortnight or three weeks till the waters shall subside? And are you sure that even in this lofty retreat they will not reach you, or force you down, together with the tree that serves as your support? Are you sure that your stock of provisions will preserve you, during this interval, from the apprehensions of famine? If this summary view of the calamities that await you are not sufficient to intimidate you, proceed; you are your own master; I have done my duty, and must beg leave to quit you.”
This blunt remonstrance, and the terrible prediction it contained, did not fail to make a strong impression on my mind, and I considered that I could not do better than return immediately to Okotsk, from which we were only fifty-five wersts distant.
We reached Medvejé-golova the same evening, where I stayed till four o’clock in the afternoon of the next day. From thence to the river Okhota I felt no otherinconvenience than that of travelling very slowly, but to compensate for this short respite, we experienced, when we came to cross the river, new perils and new alarms. I confess that I was equally terrified with my people, and dared neither measure with my eye the width of the river, nor lose sight for a moment of the trace of my sledge. The instability of the ice, which was moved up and down by the current, made me apprehensive that it could not bear the weight of so many passengers, and I expected every instant that an abyss would open and swallow up some of us. At length having gained the bank, we counted over the company one after another, to convince ourselves that no one was lost, and the pleasure of having escaped this tremendous danger, gave wings to the remainder of our journey to Okotsk, where we arrived the 14 at noon.
So speedy a return, occasioned some pleasantries on the part of M. Kokh and the other officers; each reminded me of his prediction; but I was less confused at the folly of my attempt, than mortified and distressed at its failure. I calculated with grief that my stay in this town would not perhaps be less than a month. Engrossed by a thousand melancholy ideas, I was for some time incapable of returning any answer to the demonstrations of joy and friendship which were heaped upon me. All the obstacles I had met with from my first landing at the port of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, occurred at once to my mind, and I conceived that the invincible hand of fate opposed itself to the success of my embassy. It was to no purpose that I employed every means of being expeditious; it was to no purpose that I had pushed my zeal to rashness, and on many occasions hazarded both my life and my dispatches. What a distancewas I still from Petersburg! In the mean time six months are frequently known to be sufficient for this journey; and a vessel leaving Bolcheretsk in July, will, if it meet with no accident, commonly arrive at Okotsk in three weeks or a month, and sometimes in twelve or fifteen days. From Okotsk to Yakoutsk, on horseback, is only the business of a month, and in like manner from Yakoutsk to Irkoutsk, whether we sail down, the Lena, or ride along its banks. At Irkoutsk it will probably be necessary to wait six weeks till the frost sets in, and by means of sledges it is easy travelling to Petersburg in a similar portion of time; the governor general has performed it in twenty eight days.
It is impossible to express my impatience and despair, when I contrasted the tediousness of my journey with this expeditious mode of travelling. Eight months hadalready elapsed, and I was no farther than Okotsk. It is true, I had no choice of season, and had been detained nearly three months at Bolcheretsk; obliged beside to make by land the tour of the peninsula of Kamtschatka, I had had to contend with tempests and a thousand obstacles, each more grievous than the preceding. These delays had been equally involuntary and unavoidable; and though they may be pleaded in my justification, they do not remove the regret that is inseparable from the recollection of them. It is always distressing not to be able to execute the trust reposed in us, particularly when it is known, that at a different season, and under other circumstances, the task would have been easy; but it is still more distressing, when attended with the anxiety to see our native country and our dearest friends. Such were the reflections which agitated my mind on my return to Okotsk; and for many days theypoisoned the pleasures that every one was desirous of procuring me. At length, however, the attentions I experienced, and the amusements that poured in upon me on all sides, dispelled my chagrin, and there was no longer any merit in my resignation.
Among the officers of the garrison, I owed peculiar obligations to M. Loftsoff, inspector general. He gave instant orders that the belt of their wretched horses should be collected from the environs, and kept in readiness to set off at a moment’s warning[52].This precaution enabled me to seize the first favourable opportunity, which, I flattered myself, would be sooner than they gave me reason to expect.
Mrs. Kasloff, informed of my return, had the kindness to send me every day an abundance of milk, which she knew had been prescribed by M. Allegretti, as the only food that could relieve my breast. I was the more obliged by this attention, as it was not possible to procure milk at Okotsk at any price.
In a few days I heard news that gave me real pleasure. An express from Ingiga informed us of M. Kasloff’s arrival in that settlement; but he had brought no letter fromthe governor; and our joy soon gave place to anxiety. In what situation had he arrived? Why had he not written? His health perhaps would not permit him? We all questioned the messenger in turns, and it was with difficulty he could convince us of his safety; but the probability of his account, its invariable uniformity, and our own hopes, so natural, when the person in question is dear to us, persuaded us at last that our fears were vain; and in spite of my melancholy experience of the difficulties of the route, and the unfavourableness of the season, blinded by my attachment, I frequently deceived myself, and lessened the obstacles, from my desire to see him before my departure.
Okotsk being the seat of administration, and the entrepôt of the Russian commerce in this country, I found myself at the fountain head of knowledge respecting thesesubjects. The society in which I lived, offered me a thousand opportunities of instruction, which it was impossible not to embrace. I first applied myself to the study of commerce, by enquiring into the causes that gave rise to, that favoured and increased the enterprises of the Russian colonies in this quarter of the world. I was assisted in my enquiries by the most enlightened persons and the best informed merchants; and to ascertain the truth of their accounts, I frequently contrasted them with each other, and compared them with the assertions of Coxe. I beg leave to transcribe, in this place, the notes which I minuted down for my own information. If they should contain any details sufficiently interesting to obtain pardon for the digression, I shall have gained my end, and be amply rewarded for my labour.
By the conquest of the eastern part ofSiberia, the Russians came into possession of the fruitful mines with which it abounds, and which were held in no estimation by the inhabitants. To the extraction of iron, the conquerors added that of silver, gold, and other precious metals, the eternal objects of the avarice of mankind. The discovery of these new sources of wealth, enflamed the courage of the adventurers; the result was, that they were desirous of extending their dominion still farther, and their eager regards reached beyond Irkoutsk, which ought on this side to have bounded their empire.
Upon their first incursions into the neighbouring countries, they perceived, with regret, that they had not the same advantages to hope for. Nature appeared every where to have acted as a step-mother. The sterility of the soil, which equalled the rigour of the climate, and the stupid sloth of the savageinhabitants, who were chiefly hunters, herdsmen, or ichthyophagi, men who subsist on fish, offered no flattering resources to industry, and was directly calculated to check all speculative ideas. But ingenious avarice knew how to acquire wealth even here. The view of the clothing of the savages, suggested instantly the idea of robbing them of it, and the emigrants calculated the possibility of succeeding by the lure of exchange, and the immense profit that would accrue from this branch of commerce, when it was once in their possession.
As they proceeded farther to the east of Asia, it was remarked that the furs were more beautiful; and this was sufficient to persuade Russia that it was her interest and glory to subject every part of this vast country to the obedience of her laws. Hitherto it had been the theatre of the piracies of a herd of Cossacs and Tartars, with whomsome Russians, instigated by the same spirit of plunder, had united themselves. The success of their attempts being known, the allurement of riches attracted a greater number of emigrants, whose audacity increased in proportion to the resistance they met with from the indigenes. In vain had nature placed these savages in barren deserts, in the midst of forests, where their independence seemed to be out of the reach of attack; in vain had she given them frosts, mountains, and seas of ice as barriers; every thing is surmountable by ambition, a rage for conquest, and a thirst for riches. The courage of the natives incited them every day to fresh combats, but it could not save them from oppression; the conquerors, if I may so speak, sprung up again in proportion as they perished in these bloody contests. Frequent reinforcements, countenanced by the government, repaired these losses, and gave no time to the vanquishedto recover from the surprise and shame of having yielded to a handful of foreigners, whose usurpations became more enormous on every victory. By force of arms they were already masters of the whole territory as far as Okotsk, and northward had advanced to the banks of the Anadir.
To secure so many advantages, a system of government and commerce was necessary; and immediately forts were constructed and towns built. These establishments, paltry as they were, opened an asylum to Russian, and other commercial speculators, who were acquainted with the route through these provinces. Here they could resort, when tired of their perilous expedition, and derive succour against the insults of the primitive inhabitants, who were always disposed to throw off the yoke and make reprisals.
Independently of the vexations of everykind that were exercised against them, doubtless without the knowledge of the court to which they were become tributary, the natives frequently suffered still farther from the treachery, cruelties, and all the excesses practised by ferocious conquerors, when intoxicated with success, and goaded on by the abuse of riches and power, and the hope of impunity. In practising these barbarities, individuals were emboldened by the example of their superiors, even of such as were appointed to stop the disorders, which became at last so enormous as to excite the indignation of the empress. The produce of the customs no longer flowed with equal abundance into the treasury; the tributes were either annihilated or diminished by the persons appointed to collect them. Hence the frequent change of governors, whose depravity or incapacity was justly accused, and merited at least an instant recall. Hence the want of disciplineamong the troops, the confusion of all order among the colonists, the daily accusations, the murders, and all the crimes that anarchy engenders.
It happened exactly the same at Kamtschatka, when a chief of the Cossacs[53]reduced the inhabitants of that peninsula to submit themselves to the Russian yoke. How heavily did it at first bear upon them! how many troubles, how many depredations, how many revolts did it occasion! This intestine and cruel war ceased not till a better mode of government was adopted.
A new order of things then took place; the rights of the indigenes were more respected, the taxes were less arbitrary, every function was more faithfully discharged. Freed from the shackles that loaded it, commerce began to prosper, speculations multiplied,the wealthy merchants of Russia sent their factors to Okotsk, and this town became the metropolis to other settlements that gradually sprung up. The eligibleness of its situation in the center of the conquered provinces, gave it this preference, notwithstanding the smallness of the port; but the navigation is almost entirely confined to coasting, and the ships that trade to Kamtschatka are chiefly galliots.
The cargos which they brought back, that is, the valuable skins obtained from the inhabitants by way of exchange, or as tribute, were afterwards sent to the center of the empire, where they were sold under the eyes, as it were, of government, and chiefly on its account. The caprice of the purchasers, whether natives or foreigners, was the only standard of the market: the art of the sellers was directedto raise the price of their merchandise; but from the skill of the one, and the eagerness of the other, no real benefit accrued, except to the revenue, in consequence of the enormous duties levied upon every thing that is bought and sold.
In the mean time Okotsk flourished, and the number of merchant ships that arrived in and sailed out of the port increased every day: more considerable connections gave rise to more extensive views.
Russian caravans, leaving Siberia behind them, passed from desert to desert to the very borders of China. After some warm contests, and a variety of treaties infringed and broken, it was at last settled that the two nations should trade together on the frontiers. This privilege, which China had not granted to any of the neighbouringpowers, was calculated to give to Russian commerce[54]an unbounded extension.
The merchants were no sooner informed of this new market for the sale of their furs, than they exerted themselves to procure a greater abundance. Their vessels, entrusted to pilots chosen from government ships, sailed for the east of Kamtschatka. These navigators, more daring than skilful, were fortunate beyond what they had reason to expect; they not only discovered some unknown islands, but returned from their voyage loaded with so considerable a cargo of most beautiful skins, that the court of Petersburg considered herself as bound to bestow a more particular attention to these discoveries.
Resolved to pursue them, from the hope of one day adding these islands to the number of her possessions, she entrusted the execution of her designs to the most able marine officers, such as Behring, Tchirikoff, Levacheff, and others equally celebrated. Some fitted out their vessels at Okotsk, and others sailed from the port of Avatscha, or Saint Peter and St. Paul, at the point of Kamtschatka; all were eager to traverse the vast archipelago that opened before them; all proceeded from one discovery in pursuit of another. Copper island, Behring island, the Aleutienne and Fox islands, were found in turns, and new tributes enriched the royal treasury. Having wandered a long time over the seas, these happy Argonauts reached the coast of America. A peninsula (that of Alaxa) presented itself to their view; having landed, they understood that it formed a part of the main continent; every thing indicated that it was the new quarterof the world, and full of joy, they sailed back to their country.
Scarcely had they given an account of the success of their voyage, proved by the useful observations they made, when the views of commerce were eagerly directed towards a region that offered inexhaustible resources. Russian factories were established at Alaxa[55], and the immense profit accruingto them has, in spite of the distance, supported ever since between the factors and their principals, the strictest correspondence. The following is the mode of traffic adopted at Okotsk, whence a number of vessels sail every year for America.
When a merchant has resolved to make this voyage, either in person or by means of one of his agents, he asks the consentof the governor, which is seldom refused. The cargo is divided into shares, and every person is at liberty to purchase. The shares amount only to the sum necessary to defray the expences of fitting out, and purchasing the articles of merchandise, which consist of stuffs, iron utensils, glass trinkets, handkerchiefs, brandy, tobacco, and other things held in estimation by savages. The officers and sailors have no wages, but are allowed a part of the cargo, which is calledpaï. The voyage lasts three, four, or six years; and from a spirit of avarice, the vessel is conducted to such places as are the least frequented, and even new discoveries are attempted[56].
Upon their return, these ships undergo a strict search. The owners pay duties to government, regulated by the nature of their cargoes, and estimated by the bills of lading. An appraisement is then made of the remainder, which is divided into equal portions: each owner receives either in kind or in money the amount of his capital, (allowing for freightage, and loss) and his share in the profits, if any have accrued. It will readily be perceived that it is chance alone in a manner that decides upon the quantum of dividend or deficit. In fine, part of the goods are sold at Okotsk, and part transported to Yakoutsk, from thence to Irkoutsk, and last of all to Kiakhta, where the Chinese are the established purchasers.
The mode of government is equally entitled to attention. During my abode in the peninsula, the tribunals of which, as I have already observed, hold from those of Okotsk, I obtained the fullest information on this subject[57]. I had only therefore to consider more attentively the discipline of the garrison, and the police of the town, which equally astonished me.
I expected to see, as it formerly was, a licentious soldiery; that is, a band of ferocious Cossacs, robbers by nature, and ignorant of every law but their caprice or interest. Not a day passed without some of them deserting with arms and baggage, and frequently the magazines were pillaged by this audacious troop. It was to no purpose that the representatives of the sovereign practiced severity to put a stop to these desertionsand plunderings; it was to no purpose that all the criminals, whom it was possible to apprehend, were subjected to thebattogues, or gantlet, and other punishments practiced in the Russian army. These desperadoes were so hardened to stripes, or so incorrigible, that they incurred the next day new penalties; nor could the severest punishment restrain them, or deter others. At present however the garrison is subjected to a still severer discipline, and instances of disobedience are more rare. Great praise is due to the reformers, whose perseverance and ability have operated such good effects.
Equal attention has been paid to the department of the police, which it was no easy task to establish in a town that has a considerable number of exiles among its inhabitants. The majority bear the indelible marks with which the hand of justice has branded their guilty heads, and the rest,condemned to the gallies, meditate incessantly during their labours in the port, how to break their chains with impunity. Sometimes escapes are effected, and woe to those places where these culprits betake themselves! But the continual vigilance of the governor does not long permit them to enjoy this fatal liberty; they are soon apprehended and punished, and by being loaded with heavier chains, all fears for the public safety are removed. The conduct of M. Kokh on this occasion struck me as equally prudent and determined; to a spirit of moderation, which forms the essence of his character, the utmost inflexibility is united.
The Lamouts, the Toungouses, and the Yakouts, fail not also to find employment for administration, either by the complaints which they occasion, or by their frequent insurrections, particularly at the time of levying taxes. This department is intrustedto the care of M. Loftsoff, inspector general, who, by his activity and prudence, has the art of appeasing the tumults, accommodating the disputes, and executing without violence the decrees of his sovereign. I had an opportunity of judging how perfectly satisfied all parties were with his conduct.
Such was the prosperous situation in which I found this branch of the general government. May the testimony which I am desirous of giving in its favour, be contrasted with the first accounts, and guard the reader against the disadvantageous prejudices, which a view of the former defective government is calculated to inspire. The new governors are at least intitled to this justice, that if abuses still prevail, they exert themselves without intermission to put a stop to them, in proportion as such abuses become known.
A report lately prevailed, I know not from what authority, that there was an intention of removing the inhabitants of Okotsk, either to Oudskoi, or some neighbouring settlement. If the court have really such a project in view, it must have felt, I should suppose, the necessity of having a more considerable town in this quarter, and that convenience, extent, and security, will determine its choice of a new port.
I have promised the reader some account of the commission of M. Billings. I have already observed, that he has two ships building in the dock of Okotsk, but I should be considerably at a loss to say what is their destination. It is not possible to penetrate the mystery; and all I know is, that M. Billings, from his reputation, and the abilities he displayed in one of the voyages of captain Cook, who was his countryman,has been invited into Russia, and, with the rank of captain, appointed to command a secret expedition, the object of which is supposed to be that of discovery. The powers accorded to him seem to be boundless; and materials, workmen, sailors, every requisite, in short, have been supplied by the court.
For the sake of dispatch, M. Billings had divided his men, and sent a part of them to Okotsk under the superintendance of M. Hall, his lieutenant, to construct two vessels, while he himself made, with the remainder, for the Frozen Ocean, in stout sloops and other ships hastily built in the river Kolumé.
The end of this first expedition is as yet a secret, and various conjectures are formed respecting it. The most intelligent persons agreed in supposing that he was to make the circuit of this part of Asia, to double capeSvetoï, and endeavour to return to Okotsk by the sea of Kamtschatka. If such were his project, it is probable that he met with some insurmountable obstacles in its execution, as he returned, after three months navigation, to the river Kolumé, and sailed from thence for Yakoutsk.
The armament under the direction of M. Hall had been suspended for a considerable part of the winter, but was revived and carried on with vigour during my abode at Okotsk. The hull of one vessel was already finished, and the keel of another laid in the dock. The ropemakers, blacksmiths, carpenters, sailmakers, caulkers[58], had separate workshops. The continual presence of thesuperintending officers animated the zeal of the workmen. Notwithstanding this diligence on all sides, to which I was a witness, I doubt whether these ships will be fit for sea these two years.
The river Okhota had always been disencumbered of its ice before 20 May; to the great astonishment of the inhabitants it did not begin to float this year till the 26 in the afternoon. It was a spectacle for the town, and I was invited as to a party of pleasure; but from the idea that it must be similar to what I had seen at Petersburg, I discovered little inclination or curiosity. Importuned however upon the subject, I went to the river. The crowd was already assembled, and I was immediately assailed on every side by the unanimous vociferations of those about me, who exclaimed in full chorus at sight of the enormous sheets of ice which were lifted up by the rapidity of the current.The noise of some seemed to drown that of others, and the multitude flocked together without end. The next moment loud groans struck my ears. I endeavoured to discover whence these cries proceeded, and I saw a number of men and women running like so many persons in despair along the bank. I approached with trepidation, persuaded that some unfortunate child was in danger of being drowned; but I soon discovered my error.
A troop of about a dozen dogs was the cause of this lamentation. Their masters, either from avarice or compassion, bewailed in concert the fate of these poor animals, whose loss seemed inevitable. Seated tranquilly on the ice that supported them, they looked with an air of astonishment at the crowd collected upon the bank, whose clamours and signs could not move them from their posture. Two only hadthe instinct to attempt to save themselves, and gained with difficulty the opposite side; the rest were out of sight in a few minutes, and, conveyed into the main ocean, must there infallibly have perished.
These dogs were the only victims of the breaking up of the ice; but its effects have been sometimes so terrible, as to have occasioned the removal of all the houses[59]near the river. The scattered ruins bear witness that many of them have been overturned by this fatal event, and I was informed, that in the course of some years, nearly a fourth part of the town had been destroyed by it.
The inhabitants wait with impatience forthe period when the river shall regain its natural state; it is time that the fishing season should commence, and relieve them from the famine that begins to prevail. The stock of fish procured in the preceding summer had been scanty, and was nearly exhausted. The supply of meal was also considerably diminished, and what remained was so dear that the common people were unable to purchase. The humanity of M. Kokh signalised itself on this occasion. There was a reserve of rye flour in the stores belonging to government, and he distributed it among the indigent class of the inhabitants. This afforded them some relief, but it was not of long duration. M. Kokh, who received a number of persons at his table, was reduced to the necessity of having recourse to a few eatables which he had laid by in the preceding year. At last we had nothing to eat but beef dried in the sun. To get a supply of fresh provisions,the major sent out a party to hunt deer and argali, but they had only once the good fortune to be successful.
The thaw being ended, he ordered the seine to be immediately used. I was present with a large party, and the spectacle was much superior, in my opinion, to that to which I had before been invited. It is not easy to express the pleasure, the transport of the multitude of spectators upon the first cast of the net. A prodigious quantity of small fish, like smelts and herrings, were caught, and the joy and clamour redoubled at the sight. The most famished were first served, and the whole produce of this fortunate beginning given up to them. I could not restrain my tears on perceiving the ravenousness of these poor creatures; whole families contended for the fish, which were devoured raw before my eyes.
To these fishing enterprises, which became more successful every day from salmon[60], and other large fish coming up the river, succeeded the diversion of hunting water fowl[61], which were so abundant as to cover the surface of the water: this was a new means of subsistance for the inhabitants.
In the mean time the season advanced, and in spite of the frequent fogs, we had now and then some fine days. They were the more acceptable, as the snow had fallen during the night of the 29 two inches deep, and the cold was so severe as to be one degree below zero. The waters gradually abated, but there was no appearance of vegetation.Some blades of rotten grass, the melancholy fruit of the last efforts of Nature at the close of autumn, was the only nourishment that the earth afforded to the horses, till the return of the genial influence of spring.
I was already anxious to be gone, and though I could not deceive myself respecting the miserable state of these animals, I intreated M. Kokh to order such as had been appointed for my use to be collected, resolving to leave Okotsk 6 June at latest. His orders were punctually executed; and thanks to his cares, to the kindness of Mrs. Kasloff, and the liberality of a number of friends, whom I left in this settlement, I found myself all at once amply provided with bread and biscuit. Had it not been for the recollection of the famine, I should have felt myself flattered by these presents; but the idea that I was to support myselfwith the sacrifices of friendship, hurt my feelings, and it was not without considerable pain that I was obliged to keep what no refusals could induce them to take back.
The evening preceding my departure was devoted to taking leave. I had the pleasure to learn that M. Loftsoff intended to accompany me to Moundoukann, and that lieutenant Hall, called to that place by some affairs relative to the armament under his care, was to go with us. I had little expected a third companion, doubly dear to me, but M. Allegretti informed me, that he had prepared every thing to conduct me as far as the cross of Yudoma. How great were my surprise and gratitude, when I understood that personal attachment was the sole motive of his journey! Of my two soldiers, Golikoff only attended me; Nedarezoff staid at Okotsk, but I took his father to serve me as pilot on the riverYudoma. A number of workmen, as I had agreed with the major, were to set out immediately after me, to repair the boats, which would be found unfit for service, that I might not be exposed to new dangers or new delays.
All my preparations being completed, I tore myself from the arms of M. Kokh. A number of inhabitants did me the honour to attend me to the gates of the town, where our horses waited for us, and where, after mutual reiterations of good wishes, we separated: my hosts carried with them, I trust, the conviction, that they had not entertained a man insensible to obligation.
At sight of the horse I was to mount, I drew back with horror and compassion. I had never seen so wretched an animal. His sides were lank and hollow, his buttocks narrow and peaked, so that you mightcount every bone they contained, his neck unsupported, his head between his legs, his haunches nerveless and weak. Such is the exact description of my steed. You may judge of the figure of the other horses, among which mine passed for one of the least despicable. The saddle had a considerable resemblance to our own. Those which were provided for our baggage were smaller, made of wood, and perforated with holes; upon the top there were two sticks fastened cross-wise on which the load[62]was suspended, taking care however to make the weight equal on both sides, as the smallest disproportion would infalliblyhave prevented the beasts from maintaining their equilibrium.
It was in this pitiful plight that our caravan sat out. To console ourselves for the slow pace we travelled, each was merry at the expence of his steed. Twelve wersts from Okotik, a tolerably large salt work was pointed out to me on the sea coast; the men employed in it were all malefactors or convicts. Beyond this house we left the sea at our left, and travelled for some time on the banks of the Okhota.
If the breaking up of this river occasion such alarm to the inhabitants of the town, its overflowings are not less fatal to the environs. Rising above the banks, the water not only floods the adjacent country, but becomes a torrent, that swells as it extends itself. It has been said to rise two feet above the tops of the highest trees. Fromthis account one may suppose its ravages to be dreadful, and certain it is that I saw in the forests gulfs of an astonishing depth, said to be the work of these floods.
Within a short distance from Medvejé-golova, my horse fell under me, and it was impossible to make him get up again; I had fortunately time to quit the saddle, and received therefore no injury. We left the beast on the spot[63], where it doubtless expireda few hours after. We had still eleven horses remaining; I was therefore remounted in an instant, and reached the village without meeting with any other accident.
We proceeded the next day, at nine o’clock in the morning, and forded the river Okhota, the course of which we were no longer to pursue. I perceived here and there some Yakout yourts at a considerable distance from each other: seldom are any number of them seen together.
The disposition of these families to live in this isolated manner, results from a motive of interest that is of the first importance.Horses being their chief source of wealth, if the proprietors (some of whom possess more than a thousand) built their habitations nearer to each other, how would they be able to procure nourishment for their numerous studs? The neighbouring pastures must soon be exhausted, and it would be necessary to send multitudes of them to a considerable distance; but how many inconveniences would result in consequence of the negligence or dishonesty of the keepers.
Arrived at Moundoukann, our horses were so fatigued that we passed the night there and all the next day, which was 8 June. I have already observed that this village is twenty wersts from Medjevé-golova; it gives its name to a river on which it is situated.
At break of day I separated from M. Halland M. Loftsoff, who were to stay in this place. I first climbed a high mountain calledOurak, the summit of which was still covered with snow; it reached to the bellies of our horses, who suffered extremely in this passage.
A river of the same name runs at the foot of the mountain. It is wide, deep, and rapid; and on its bank is a yourt inhabited by watermen. They were at this time all absent, probably a hunting, as their open house indicated that they had not long been departed.
Tired of calling and waiting for them, we launched the least defective of the boats that were fastened on the bank, and after searching about we found some oars. We unloaded and unsaddled the horses, and placed the baggage in the boat, which in turn conveyed us to the other side. Oursteeds still remained, and I trembled lest they should not be able to swim across. The security of my Yakouts in this respect appeared to me unaccountable; by dint of whipping them, they forced them into the water; the boat went before to guide them, and one of our conductors was left on the bank to pelt them with stones and frighten them with his cries, so as to prevent their turning back. In about half an hour they all arrived safe, when they were immediately saddled and reloaded[64], and we pursued our journey.
The weakness of our horses obliged us to halt twenty-five wersts from Moundoukann, in a place that offered us most pasture, and that seemed to have few traces of bears.From a fast of six months, it is easily conceived how much the voracity of these animals is to be dreaded. Deserting their dens, they prowl about the country, and from the want of fish, with which the rivers do not yet abound, they ravenously attack every animal they meet, and particularly horses. We were obliged to take precautions even for our own safety. From the following description, the reader will be able to form an idea of the nature of our halts.
Having fixed upon the spot, the horses were eased of their burthens and permitted to graze at liberty. Fires were then kindled at equal distances round our little camp, and at the entrance of my tent I repeatedly discharged my musquet, being assured that the report and smell of the powder would terrify and drive away the bears. At break of day our horses are assembled;if any of them were dispersed they came at the cry of my Yakouts, who possess the same talent in this respect as the Koriacs with their rein deer.
Surprised at seeing tufts of horse hair suspended to the branches of trees, I asked the cause of it, and was informed that they were offerings made by the people of the country to the gods of the woods and highways. My guides had their favourite places, where they piously deposed similar gifts. This superstition is at least productive of one good effect, as the offerings may serve to point out the road to travellers.
In the course of the preceding day we had crossed various branches of the river Ourak, the ramifications of which are infinite, but none of them occasioned us any delay. The 11, about five o’clock in theafternoon, we met this river again: its width was not very considerable, and, but for the rain[65]that had fallen and swelled the current, we should have felt no hesitation in fording it as we had done in the preceding instances. My principal guide represented it as dangerous; but having been forewarned that if I listened to their advice they would frequently make me halt even at noon day, to repose themselves rather than from a wish to refresh their horses, I resolved at least to have the depth founded. The experiment however convinced me that my guide was in the right. The person whom I ordered to go into the river was quickly obliged to return, as his horse lost footing a few steps from the bank. It was necessary to pitch our camp in theneighbourhood, where our horses fortunately found something to eat.
That I might lose less time, I restricted myself to one regular meal in the evening, satisfied with the refreshment of rye biscuit in the course of the day; but I had desired my people to inform me whenever they perceived any game[66], and we lived for some time on the fruits of my success. Necessity is an able master, and custom supplied the want of skill.
If I happened to kill any small animals, they fell to the lot of my Yakouts, except the skins, which they returned to me. Golikoff had given me a disgust to this food, which I conceived from his report to bevery nauseous. Tempted however one day by the whiteness of the flesh, when boiled, I eat part of one of these little animals: they taste of the fir, but are less disagreeable than I had been led to believe. In a time of scarcity, I should have considered them as very acceptable, and can forgive the Yakouts their high relish of them.
Their principal food, which they callbourdouk, gave me infinitely more repugnance. It is a kind of thick frumenty, made of rye meal and water, into which, after it is taken off the fire, they pour fish oil: the quantity they eat of it astonished and shocked me. I was told that in general they were not very great eaters; it was however added, that they now and then, as a treat, roast a horse, which is demolished in a few hours by a very small number of guests, and the intestines of the animal are by no means the least precious morsel.Who would suppose that men of such voracious appetites, practice at other times a frugality that seems scarcely sufficient to support life, and frequently continue a number of days together without food?
I was awaked at an early hour by my guides, who came to inform me that the river had considerably abated during the night. While they were loading our baggage a number of horsemen arrived, who had in like manner been detained on the opposite side; they crossed without any risk, and inspired us with the fullest confidence.
They were bankrupt merchants going to try their fortune, as factors of a man of property, whose speculation had obtained the concurrence of the court, and all the succours that he wanted. Its object was the fur trade, particularly that of sables,caught by the Koriacs and Tchouktchis. These factors were to separate at the mouth of the Pengina, and advance considerably into the country. They were allowed four or five years for their undertaking, and their intention was not only to collect furs from every quarter in the way of purchase, but to hunt themselves the animals that furnished them. Apprehensive of no other obstacles but what might be occasioned by the natives, they were provided with ammunition and arms to repel their insults.
In quitting us they turned an eye of pity on our poor beasts, while we on the contrary observed with envy the strength and good condition of theirs. Coming from the environs of Yakoutsk, where there is no scarcity of winter provisions, these horses were a perfect contrast with ours, which appeared still more wretched from the comparison.
When we had passed the river, I asked my guides if I might hope that it was the last we should cross. They replied in the negative, informing me that we should meet with three others in the course of the day. From their description I judged that they must be new branches of the Ourak. Be this as it may, my fears increased every time, and the idea that the horse might fall with my box, made me shudder.
Upon coming out of a thick wood, I found myself on the bank of a real torrent, the stream was so rapid, and the breadth of the river scarcely less than two hundred yards; at a little distance it poured itself into the Ourak. In the mean time we conceived it to be fordable, and with this confidence I spurred my horse to make him descend. In the middle of the river I felt his legs tremble. I encouraged him; he proceeded, and the water now reached nofarther than my knee. Emboldened by this circumstance, I placed myself firm in my seat, having been thrown something off my center by a sort of dizziness which the continual view of the current perpetually excited. Already I approached the opposite bank, the climbing of which required new efforts. To ascend it, it was necessary to surmount a ridge of ice which still remained attached to it. The declivity was steep, but it would have been in vain to have fought for a better landing-place. My resolution was soon taken, and I directed the animal towards the perilous ascent; already he had gained a position for his fore feet, and he rested them as well as he could to bring forward his hind ones. He lost his footing, and fell backward into the water; the horse and the rider floated in different parts of the stream. The water was deep, and the cumberousness of my dress restrained my efforts. Both the animaland myself were carried along by the violence of the current, and I insensibly grew weaker. I was approaching the place where the two rivers joined, when on a sudden I heard a voice saying, “Catch at the bridle of your horse, or it is over with you!” The sound, the idea of the danger re-animated me; I struck forward with all my strength, stretched out my hand, and seized the rein. Providence was undoubtedly watchful for my preservation, for at the same moment my horse took footing and breath; an instant later, and we had been lost. I slided my hand to the upper end of the bridle, and then threw my arms strongly round the neck of the animal. Thus I remained suspended as it were between life and death, not daring to move a finger, and calling aloud for succour. My faithful Golikoff had in vain endeavoured to follow me in my misfortune; the vigour of his horse did not correspond to the zeal ofthe rider; anxious and impatient, it was he that had given me the salutary and terrible advice of grasping at my horse; and no sooner did he perceive its happy effects, than he hastened on his part to climb the shore. To land, to run towards me, to lay hold of my horse and drag him out of the water, and to restore me to life, was all the affair of five minutes.
My first care, having leaped on the neck of my deliverer, was to tear off the port-folio which was fastened to my girdle. In spite of the oil case in which it was enveloped the water had penetrated into it, and I trembled for the fate of two important packets which count de la Perouse had particularly recommended to my care. I had the pleasure to find that they were but little injured.
My box I had left on the other side; myuneasiness respecting it was soon dispelled by the arrival of M. Allegretti and my other companions, who placed it in my hands. They were still pale and dismayed at the accident I had encountered, and considered it as a miracle that I had been able to save myself. I had seen death too near me, not to be of the same opinion.
We again mounted our horses, but I confess that my blood froze in my veins, when we approached a river; I took care in future to send one of my guides before, and was not free from apprehension till he made me a signal from the opposite bank.
During this day, as well as in every preceding one since our departure from Okotsk, we constantly travelled through forests, or along the banks of rivers. In the woodsthe trees[67]that line the roads are small, but so bushy and so beset with briars, that my Yakouts were frequently obliged to clear the way with their hatchets[68], which still slackened our pace, though we never went at a greater rate than a walk.
I arrived in tolerable time at Oratskoï-plodbisché. This was the first habitation I had seen since the yourt belonging to the watermen, and I spent there the rest of the day. The river Ourak flows at the foot of this hamlet; the number of inhabitants amounts only to five soldiers, each of whom has an isba. They are appointed to guard a magazine for the reception of effects belongingto the crown, sent from Okotsk or Yakoutsk. Upon occasion they convey the merchandize as far as the mouth of the Ourak; but this river is so obstructed, sometimes with flats and sometimes with cataracts, and the embarkations at the same time are so weak, that the navigation is equally painful and dangerous.
The next morning, which was the 13, I crossed this river in a boat; it takes its rise at no great distance, from an immense lake where we halted in the evening. The lake is situated upon an eminence, is about seven wersts in circumference, and is said to abound with fish.
I cannot pass over in silence a scene that took place this day among my Yakouts, respecting a horse that it was necessary to leave in the road. They had stopped, and were holding a consultation round theanimal. Impatient at seeing no end to their discussion, I was about to witness my discontent, when they forestalled me, intreating my indulgence for the delay they occasioned me. Accountable for the horses committed to their care, it is customary, when they lose any of them either by accident or from excess of fatigue, to cut off the tail and the ears, which they are obliged to produce to the proprietor to exculpate themselves, or pay the value of the animals. The dispute at present was, whether they should put an end to the poor dying beast. This required some time, which I was not in a humour to sacrifice to them, and I replied therefore somewhat angrily, that there was a more simple, more expeditious, and less cruel way of effecting this end. I promised them a certificate, that should attest the loss and supply the place of the usual proofs, by taking the blame of their failure in this respect upon myself. They acquiesced withouthesitation in my proposal, and this deference was no small proof, I was told, of their respect.
From the hope of travelling quicker, I committed our baggage to the care of old Nedarezoff, and went on before with M. Allegretti, Golikoff, and a Yakout. A pond presented itself, the depth of which might be about a foot. I rode into it with M. Allegretti, and Golikoff followed holding my box on his saddle. He had scarcely advanced ten steps when the horse stumbled and threw him off sideways; but more intent upon his deposit than his own preservation, he fell upon the box, having taken care not to relinquish his hold. I immediately alighted to assist him; but having fallen in the mire, he had sustained no injury. His greatest trouble proceeded from my box being wet, but I consoled him by shewing him that the water had not touched the inside.
Our horses were so fatigued, that we were obliged to alight and lead them by the bridle, while the Yakout whipped them severely behind. We travelled in this manner the whole day, resting every half hour, where the new grass[69]began to appear, in order to recover in some measure our poor beasts.
About three o’clock in the afternoon we arrived at the cross of Yudoma[70]. On an eminence, secure from the overflowings ofthis river, which extends its impetuous waves to a great distance, are a number of magazines guarded by four soldiers, and which serve them as an asylum when their common habitations by the side of the Yudoma are flooded: these soldiers practice also the business of watermen, and are at the service of travellers.
Upon seeing my passport they submitted themselves entirely to my disposal. Unfortunately all their boats were in a condition the most wretched that can be imagined, and we had neither materials nor workmen to refit them. Those who had been sent from Okotsk were not likely to arrive soon, and I was impatient to embark[71]in order to sail down the rivers Yudoma, Maya, and Aldann. Among thesesoldiers, one only had ever made this voyage, and nine years having since elapsed, he had totally forgotten the course. I was advised not to try him, unless all the others refused.
My only resource therefore was Nedarezoff, who had attended me in order to serve as pilot; but what a pilot! He had once, twelve years ago, been upon this river, and all he remembered was, that he was three years in going from Yakoutsk to Okotsk. He conducted at that time a considerable convoy of timber, anchors, cordage, and other materials for fitting out an armament.
Of the four boats that were on the strand, I chose the best and the narrowest, which was twelve feet long by six wide[72]. Onexamining it, I found that it must be caulked, tarred, and have an additional plank at the head to enable it to resist the force of the waves. With two boards, and some nails from an old boat, one of the soldiers, who understood a little the trade of a carpenter, effected the latter part of the business, but we wanted every material for the other repairs. We ransacked the magazines to no purpose, and during the whole night I ceased not to puzzle my brain in order to invent some expedient.
At break of day, as I was going to visit the workmen, I trod on an old and large cord that lay on the bank. Elate with my good fortune, I carried it to my soldiers; instantly it was cut to pieces, and unravelled; we had thus a supply of tow, and the three most important leaks were stopped. The difficulty was to fasten and keep in the tow; my workmen proposed to me to coverthe chinks with laths, but we had no nails of any sort. Necessity is the mother of invention. With a wimble, which was the only tool we had, we made holes round the leaky places; some small cord, which I found in my baggage, being passed through them, and the holes afterwards filled up with pegs, the laths were so firmly fastened as to prevent the water from penetrating the boat. At three o’clock in the afternoon our repairs were completed, the helm fixed, and the oars adjusted; and I ordered my people to be ready by the next morning.
When we were just on the point of setting off, a caravan of Yakoutsk merchants appeared; they were going to Okotsk, and I entreated M. Allegretti to embrace the opportunity of accompanying them. Our separation took place at nine o’clock. On leaving him, all the services he had rendered me, and the proofs of attachment hehad evinced, presented themselves to my view, and made an impression on my heart.
I engaged two of the soldiers to row me, one of whom was the man that had before made this voyage; Nedarezoff was at the helm; and Golikoff and I were to relieve him when he should be tired. The rapidity of the current carried us on with such violence, that we could easily dispense with the oars. At the rate we sailed my soldiers had no doubt that we should reach the famous cataract before night, which was more than eighty wersts from the place of our departure. Their conversation turned solely upon the dangers we should have to encounter. Though I was already prepossessed with the idea of their inexperience, by continually hearing these discourses, dictated by fear, I began at last to be alarmed myself, and resolved to act with all possible prudence, that I might have no reason toreproach myself. I frequently went on shore, and walked along the river to see how far the navigation was safe. Towards the evening a west north-west wind, brought on rain. Rather than run any risk in such bad weather I halted, and ordered my tent to be pitched over the boat.
The next day, after four hours navigation, interrupted by frequent landings to observe the approach of the cataract, we at last perceived it. Accompanied by my two pilots, I went to examine the spot. At a short distance from it I saw a little stony island, which is only perceptible when the waters begin to fall. My soldiers advised me to pass, if the waters were sufficiently high, by the way of a canal which we should find at the right; though the descent was very rapid, they assured me that it was nothing in comparison with that of the cataract. This advice engrossed my whole attention,and having convinced myself of its utility, I returned to the boat, resolved to put it in practice. I encouraged my people in the best manner I could, and then took the helm. Nedarezoff sat by me, and Golikoff assisted one of the rowers, for we had only two oars. We proceeded in this manner till we reached the conflux of the two streams, one of which led to the canal, and the other lost itself in the cataract. The impetuosity of the latter would have drawn us into the abyss, but for the skill and strength of my rowers. The instant the signal is given, their nervous arms are stretched to strike the oar, and to struggle against the waves; the waters rage and foam, and the violent shocks they give to our boat, my unceasing exhortations, and more than all the fear of being destroyed, redouble the ardour of my soldiers. We are at length extricated from the treacherous current, and enter into the canal. How smooth did itswaters appear after this terrifying passage! To give my people rest, I abandoned myself to the gentle declivity of the stream: the helm was sufficient to direct the boat.
When we were at the foot of the cataract, curiosity led me to turn my head. I trembled at its dreadful aspect, and thanked heaven for having afforded me a different way. Nine boats out of ten that should attempt this passage, would infallibly be wrecked:—the reader shall judge.
What must be the fate of so small and feeble a float, if, in defiance of danger, it should be permitted to follow the course of the torrent? In its precipitate descent, I see it the sport of the waves that roll one upon another, and fall with a deafening noise from a height of twenty feet upon three enormous rocks concealed by the foam, and over which it must necessarilypass. Without a miracle, how should it avoid sinking, or escape the being dashed to pieces? Meanwhile, when the water is so low as to render the canal not navigable, there is no other way left. My guides informed me that the boats were always unladed before the risk was attempted, and that this was all the precaution that was taken, and all the skill that could be displayed by the pilots. These cataracts are calledporog.
We had still a difficult pass to make, that terrified my people; it is calledPodporojenei, or the ebb of the cataract, which is about the distance of a werst from it. They were still talking of it when we arrived, and I had scarcely time to explain to them the manœuvre which I thought it necessary to practice. Our object was to choose the deepest side; the blackness of the water seemed to point it out, and I steered towardsit. The multiplicity and bulk of the waves tossed us about with more violence than if we had been in the open sea. All at once our boat was pitched upon a rock that was on a level with the water, and which none of us had perceived. We were thrown down by the force of the shock; my companions imagined themselves to be lost, and had not the courage to raise themselves; it was in vain I called upon them to row on; they paid no attention to my cries. I caught hold of the helm, and perceiving that the boat had sustained no injury, I animated their drooping spirits, and prevailed on them to take their stations. We owed our safety to the moss with which the rock was covered; the boat touched it in its passage, and glided along without suffering any damage.
To avoid this accident, it is necessary to pass exactly in the middle of the stream,and to pay no attention to the waves which rise, and seem to break against the rocks. The passage is about three hundred yards. At the bottom of this podporojenei, another river empties itself; the clearness of its water, and the smoothness of its current by the side of the agitation and turmoil of the Yudoma, form so striking a contrast, that the eye for a long time distinguishes the one from the other.
At the left of this last is another arm equally formidable, and which is calledTschortofskoï-protok, or devil’s arm. It pours itself into the Yudoma about thirty wersts from where this river joins the Maya. It is known by the number of rocks and dead trees that obstruct its entrance; if you are not careful to steer constantly to the right, you are drawn in by a very rapid current, and your ruin is inevitable.
I hoped to kill a bear that was prowling on the bank; I loaded my gun with deer-shot, and fired at it, but in spite of its wound it fled to the woods, and I lost sight of it. The next moment a beautiful rein deer started fifteen paces before me, but my gun not being charged, it escaped. I saw also a number of argalis, swans, geese, and a fox, but I could reach none of them.
This day I perceived, for the first time since my departure from Yudomskoi-krest, a forest of pine trees. To make up for it, I had not been able to count the numerous woods of firs that presented themselves to my view, both on the right and left, and it is this tree[73]that furnishes the masts and other timber used in all the dock yards on this coast.
I felt myself indisposed by the attack of afever, but I paid no great attention to it; I merely laid myself down in the boat, and observed no other regimen than that of drinking cold water. We no longer halted during the night, as our navigation was become perfectly easy.
Notwithstanding the assertions I had heard, I could not easily believe that the Ourak was more rapid than the Yudoma. We sailed on the latter ten, twelve, and frequently fifteen wersts an hour. Its most regular direction appeared to be west, and it forms at its mouth a great number of small islands.
I entered the Maya on the 22, at two o’clock in the morning, and proceeded in a direction nearly north, but inclining now and then to the east. The banks of this river are less steep, less dreary than those of the preceding, though at intervals there aremountains and even rocks. The difference of the current was still more perceptible, as we only sailed four wersts an hour.
About noon we met nine boats loaded with a variety of military stores for M. Billings’ expedition. They were drawn by men, and were going up the rivers that we had descended. I was not able to approach them, but I knew that they were bound for Okotsk, under the command of M. Behring, son of the navigator, to whom Russia owes such interesting discoveries on the north-west coast of America. He expected, I was told, to be six weeks in performing what had cost us only four days.
The gnats became troublesome to us to a degree that was almost insupportable. We had no other way of keeping them off than by the smoke of rotten wood, with whichwe were obliged to make an incessant fire in the night as well as in the day.
In the afternoon of the 23, I quitted the river Maya for another, larger and more rapid, called the Aldann[74]; but I merely crossed it, in order to gain a habitation on the other side, opposite to the mouth of the Maya[75].
I found there some marines belonging to M. Billings’s expedition, who advised me to embrace the opportunity of a number of horses of burthen, lately arrived, and that would on their return convey me as far asAmgui. According to my itinerary, I was to go by water toBelskaïa-pereprava, which is in the usual course from Okotsk toYakoutsk, but in going by way of Amgui I should considerably shorten it. This certainty, and the happy chance that provided me with horses, induced me to alter my previous plan.