I paid my guides[76], and as their orders were to leave the boat at Belskaïa-pereprava, which was a hundred and fifty wersts farther, they continued their course on the Aldann. They were not a werst from me, when I repented the having dismissed them. The Yakouts, to whom the horses belonged, and who were apprehensive of fatiguing them too much, heard with regret that I intended to make use of them. Not daring openly to refuse me, they endeavoured to escape by stealth: they were pursued, and by dint of promises brought back. To make sure of them we were obliged to shut themall up in one isba, from which they were not permitted to come out till they had consented to conduct me to Amgui; the precaution had in the mean time been taken of selecting ten of the best horses for my use.
After a good night’s rest, which effectually recovered me from my slight indisposition, I gaily mounted my horse, accompanied by the Yakouts, who had been lectured by Golikoff, and were become more docile. I was astonished at their good humour, which made them sing the whole way.
Their music is by no means agreeable, and consists of a monotonous and continual shake in the throat. They are however great improvvisatori. Their words cost them no labour or efforts of genius, and the subject is derived from whatever passes before them, or occurs to their mind. If abird flies by their side, they will make a song of it that shall last for an hour. Not that their imagination accumulates ideas; the song, on the contrary, is nothing more than an endless repetition of the words,Lo! the bird in his flight!
For the space of a hundred wersts we travelled across a moving swamp, in which our horses sunk so deep that we were obliged to alight in order to assist in extricating them; the rest of the way was not so bad. In the midst of a large wood, I saw upon the border of a lake two fishermen employed in making their winter provisions. Their whole habitation was merely a roof made of the bark of trees; when the summer is at an end, they seek among their relations a less exposed and warmer retreat.
The 25, we had a great deal of rain, particularlywhile I halted, which was from four o’clock in the afternoon till eight in the evening. My Yakouts, to defend themselves from it, placed upon their shoulders a bears’ skin in the manner of a cape. The tail of a horse, fixed in the large handle of a whip, served to keep off the flies. We were so harassed by them, that I hesitated not in having recourse to this species of fly flap.
The 26 furnished nothing remarkable. I arrived in the evening at the border of the river Amga, two hundred wersts from the harbour of the mouth of the Maya. Its depth took from us all desire of crossing it by fording, and the boats in the mean time were all on the opposite side. We called for assistance, but it was to no purpose. Out of patience at seeing no person appear, one of my Yakouts stripped himself, and swam over to fetch us a boat. The crossingof our whole caravan was not completed in less than an hour. We immediately mounted our horses, in order to reach the habitation of a Yakout prince, named Girkoff. In our way I saw a number of yourts, but they were all at least a werst from one another. At a little distance from that of theknesetsk, or prince, Golikoff went on before, to endeavour to procure us a good reception.
The prince really showed me great civility; he not only offered me his yourt, and treated me with milk and excellent butter, but promised that his best horses[77]should the next day be at my service. Being informedthat I stood in need of repose, he pointed out the hut he had destined for me, and while it was preparing, he had the politeness to show me the conveniences of his yourt, which was one of the best I had yet seen.
The size of these houses varies according to the wealth of the proprietor, and the number of his family. Beams, placed by the side of one another, and plastered with clay, form the walls, which are not like ours, perpendicular. Inclining towards the top, they support a roof, the slope of which is very inconsiderable: in some yourts the roof is supported by posts. The house has but one door, and is divided, as I have already observed, into two apartments. The cleanest is inhabited by the family, who sleep in distinct huts, distributed at equal distances against the walls, and which I can compare to nothing better than the smallcabins in Dutch ships: every couple have a hut to themselves. The other part of the yourt is for the cattle, and is nothing more than a stable. In the center of the building is a round chimney made of wood, and guarded from accidents by a thick clay covering. When they light a fire, the wood is placed perpendicularly. Cross beams are occasionally placed in the chimney, upon which they hang their kettles, and these are repeated, in proportion to the number of vessels they have to boil.
In one corner of the yourt a leathern trough is fixed, and mare’s milk every day put into it, and stirred with a stick, similar to what is made use of in churning butter. Every person who enters, the women particularly, before they attend to any other business, stir the milk a few minutes; it is by this means they procure that sourish, but at the same time pleasant beverage, calledkoumouiss. If allowed to ferment, it becomes a very potent liquor.
My host spoke the Russian language tolerably well[78]; I embraced the opportunity of drawing from him some information respecting the customs, manners, and religion of his countrymen, which I shall insert in this place, together with some notes that I had before made on these subjects.
When summer commences, they leave their winter habitations, and with their families, and a small number of horses, go to make their harvests of fodder for consumption during the frost season. They repair to a considerable distance from their yourt, and to the most fertile cantons. In their absence, the horses are left to the care of the servants, and the neighbouring pasturesserve for the maintenance of all their herds.
I very much regret the not having been present at their festival in the month of May, in celebration of the return of spring. They assemble in the open country, where they roast oxen and horses; and being supplied with an abundance of fermented koumouiss, they eat and drink to satiety, dancing and singing at intervals, and concluding at last with necromancies. Their chamans preside in these festivals, and deal out their extravagant predictions.
These sorcerers are more at liberty and more revered than in Kamtschatka. Regarded as interpreters of the gods, they grant their mediation to the stupid Yakout, who implores it with trembling, but always pays for it. I have seen these dupes give their finest horse to conduct a chaman to hisvillage. Nothing can be more frightful than the magic exhibitions of these impostors. As I knew nothing of them but from report, I was desirous of being present. I was astonished at the veracity of the account that had been given me: as I have already accurately related it[79], I shall content myself with describing the chaman that exhibited before me.
Dressed in a habit that was ornamented with bells and plates of iron, which made a deafening noise, he beat besides on abouben, or tabor, with a degree of force that was terrifying. He then ran about like a maniac, with his mouth open, and his head turned in every direction. His black deshevelled hair[80]concealed his face, and beneathit proceeded at one moment real groans, the next tears and sobs, and then loud peals of laughter, the usual preludes of these revelations.
In the idolatry of the Yakouts, we find all the absurdities and superstitious practices of the ancient Kamtschadales, Koriacs, Tchouktchis, and other inhabitants of these countries. They have however some more solid principles; and amidst the ridiculous fictions under which they are buried, we meet with ideas ingenious enough respecting the supreme being, miracles, and future rewards and punishments.
But I was chiefly struck with the vivacity and singularity of their turn of mind. They delight in the fables drawn from their absurd mythology, and they relate them with all the confidence of credulity itself. By comparing them with our own, one is temptedno longer to hold in such esteem our ancient and modern fabulists, when we see this species of composition cultivated by such rivals. The two following fables were translated for me by Golikoff, word for word.
There arose one day in a large lake, a violent contest between the different species of fish. The question was the establishment of a tribunal of supreme judges, whose business it should be to govern the whole finny tribe. The herring, and most diminutive fish, conceived that they had as much right to the prerogative as the salmon. From one thing to another the dispute became so warm that the small fish united in a body against the large, who took advantage of their weakness to insult and persecute them. Hence intestine and bloody wars that end in the destruction of one of the two parties. The vanquished, who escaped from being killed, fled to the small canals, and left the large fish, who had the victory, masters of the lake. Such is the law of the strongest.
There arose one day in a large lake, a violent contest between the different species of fish. The question was the establishment of a tribunal of supreme judges, whose business it should be to govern the whole finny tribe. The herring, and most diminutive fish, conceived that they had as much right to the prerogative as the salmon. From one thing to another the dispute became so warm that the small fish united in a body against the large, who took advantage of their weakness to insult and persecute them. Hence intestine and bloody wars that end in the destruction of one of the two parties. The vanquished, who escaped from being killed, fled to the small canals, and left the large fish, who had the victory, masters of the lake. Such is the law of the strongest.
The other fable bears a greater resemblance to our old women’s tales, with which children are terrified, and the tediousness of a rustic evening beguiled. I should be apt to suspect that it was the production of a chaman.
A Yakout had failed in respect, or done some injury to his chaman. The devil, to avenge the latter, transformed himself into a cow; and, having mixed in the herd, contrived, while it was feeding by the side of a wood, to steal the finest heifers. In the evening when the herdsman returned, his enraged master ascribed all the loss to his negligence, and drove him from his house. Immediately the devil appeared in the dress of a herdsman, an agreement was made, and the next day he drove the cows to field. One, two days passed, and the Yakout saw nothing of his herd. In his distress he went with his wife, searched every where for his cows, and at last found them—but in what disorder! Upon his approach they began to skip and dance to the sound of the flute[81]of the perfidious herdsman. The master stormed and raved. “Hold there,” said the devil to him. “It well becomes thee indeed, who hast abused the confidence of the most respectable of chamans, to accuse me of stealing thy herd. May this serve thee as a lesson, and teach thee to give to every man that which belongs to him.” Upon this the herd and the herdsman disappeared, and the poor Yakout lost all his property.
A Yakout had failed in respect, or done some injury to his chaman. The devil, to avenge the latter, transformed himself into a cow; and, having mixed in the herd, contrived, while it was feeding by the side of a wood, to steal the finest heifers. In the evening when the herdsman returned, his enraged master ascribed all the loss to his negligence, and drove him from his house. Immediately the devil appeared in the dress of a herdsman, an agreement was made, and the next day he drove the cows to field. One, two days passed, and the Yakout saw nothing of his herd. In his distress he went with his wife, searched every where for his cows, and at last found them—but in what disorder! Upon his approach they began to skip and dance to the sound of the flute[81]of the perfidious herdsman. The master stormed and raved. “Hold there,” said the devil to him. “It well becomes thee indeed, who hast abused the confidence of the most respectable of chamans, to accuse me of stealing thy herd. May this serve thee as a lesson, and teach thee to give to every man that which belongs to him.” Upon this the herd and the herdsman disappeared, and the poor Yakout lost all his property.
The place where this scene passed, has since that time been considered as the abode of infernal spirits. The incredulous scruple not to assert that the devil who stole thecows, was no other than the chaman himself; but such is the simplicity of the honest Yakouts, that they feel a repugnance at this suspicion, and treat it as horrible blasphemy.
Remains of old tombs of the Yakouts were frequently pointed out to me in the woods. They were coffins clumsily made, and suspended on the branches of trees. I know not from what motive they have renounced this custom of exposing their dead in the open air, and at a distance from their habitations; but at present their mode of interment is similar to that of Christians.
The funerals are attended with a kind of pomp more or less magnificent, in proportion to the rank and wealth of the defunct. If a prince, he is arrayed in his finest habits, and most splendid arms. The body, placed in a coffin, is carried by the family to the tomb; deep groans announce the solemnprocession. His favourite horse, and another the best of his stud, both richly caparisoned, and led by a valet, or near relation, walk by the side of the corpse. When arrived at the burying place, they are tied to two stakes[82]fixed near the grave, and while the master is interred, their throats are cut over the corpse. This bloody libation is the homage paid to his attachment to these animals, who are supposed to follow him into the other world, where it is imagined that he will again be able to enjoy them. They are then flayed; the head and hide, in one entire piece, are fixed horizontally upon the branches of trees at a small distance from the grave; and such is the memorial that is erected. A fire is then kindled, and the last proof of friendship for the deceased consists in roasting and eating upon the spot these favoured animals. The feast beingconcluded the company disperses. The same ceremonial is observed for a woman, except that instead of a horse, they sacrifice her favourite cow.
The Yakouts are robust, and in general large. They resemble the Tartars in the cast of their features, and there is said also to be a great similarity in the idioms of these two people; I can only affirm that the Yakouts are very abrupt in their manner of speaking, and do not connect their words.
Their dress is simple, and nearly the same all the year round, the only difference is, that in winter it is made of skins. Over their chemise they commonly wear a large striped waistcoat with sleeves. Their breeches do not extend below the middle of the thigh, but their long boots, calledsarri,reach above the knee. In hot weather they wear nothing but the breeches.
They pretend to ride better than any other nation in the world, and their vanity in this respect is carried so far, that they avoid, from a sentiment of disdain, giving to travellers their most mettlesome steeds[83].
Polygamy forms a part of the political code of these people. Obliged to make frequent journies, a Yakout has a wife in every place where he stops, but he never assembles them together. Notwithstanding this licence, they are jealous to excess, and the sworn enemies of whoever shall dare to violate the rights of hospitality.
Thanks to the cares of prince Girkoff, I found when I awoke nine excellent horsesready saddled[84]. He wished me to ride his favourite horse, because it ambled with perfect ease. Overwhelmed with his civilities, I left him the 27 at an early hour, with the consoling hope of more frequently meeting with habitations, where I might sometimes rest myself, and get a fresh supply of steeds.
A few paces from the preceding habitation, which is calledAmguinskoi-stanovie, or Amgui halt, I saw in the road wooden images of a bird about the size of a duck, or a cormorant; they are emblematical representations of a malicious divinity, the terror of the whole canton. The most absurd stories are told upon this subject; it is said, for example, that this diabolical spirit has frequently led travellers out of their road, and devoured their horses.
I alighted in the evening at the house ofanother Yakout prince[85], who had just settled himself in his summer habitation, which seemed to be equally neat and pleasant. I shall here insert a description of theirourassis, for such is the name by which these picturesque dwellings are called.
Like the yourts of the wandering Koriacs, they are circular, spacious, and constructed with poles, fewer in number, but ranged in the same manner, and kept asunder by a sort of hoops at the top; the whole covered in with the bark of the birch tree[86], formed into pieces eighteen inches wide, placed in a downward direction. These pieces are edged with a kind of ribband equally made of this bark, and shaped into festoons, and the inside of the yourt is ornamentedin the same manner. The taste of these ornaments is governed by the caprice of the proprietor, and there is in them a sort of wildness that is sufficiently amusing. The same decoration is annexed to the chairs and beds of the heads of families. The domestics lie upon the ground on mats or skins, and the fire is lighted in the middle of the house.
The 28, I came to the river Sola, and rode for a considerable time along its banks. The heat incommoded me as much as the flies, and I was so thirsty that I stopped at every yourt to drink koumouiss.
The next morning I reached a place calledYarmangui, which is two hundred wersts from Amgui, and on the border of the Lena. By crossing this river I should be at Yakoutsk; but by a regulation of the governor, every traveller was obliged to wait here till hehad permission to enter the town. Disagreeable as was this kind of quarantine, I had reconciled myself to it, when a subaltern officer requested me to go two hundred yards farther, where I should find the inspector general, and a lieutenant belonging to Mr. Billings. They were informed of my arrival, and received me with the most flattering demonstrations of esteem and joy. I had no sooner explained to them how much the delay with which I was threatened would counteract my views, than they gave instant orders for my being conducted to the other side of the river, adding, that they were sure of the approbation of the governor, to whom I had long since been announced and recommended.
At noon I entered the boat provided for me, and was four hours in crossing the Lena in a diagonal direction. As far as I couldjudge by my eye, this river cannot be less than two leagues wide.
When landed, I was interrogated by an officer of the police, who, as was customary, led me to the apartment which he thought proper to fix upon for my residence. I requested him to direct me to the house of M. Marklofski, the governor, whom I immediately visited. He received me with the utmost politeness, conversing entirely in French, which seemed very familiar to him. After complimenting me upon the rapidity of my journey[87], and my fortunate arrival, he invited me to stay a few days at Yakoutsk, to recover myself from my fatigue.
But of all his obliging offers, nothing flattered me more than his engaging me tosup the same evening with M. Billings. I had a strong desire to be acquainted with him, and I waited with impatience till the hour arrived. Our common profession of travellers, gave us a degree of familiarity the moment we met, and we might have been taken for old acquaintance; in the mean time we were both perfectly reserved upon the subject of our respective missions, carefully avoiding in conversation every thing that might lead to it. I admired the delicacy and prudence of M. Billings in this respect: during my stay I dined once at his house, and we met every morning and evening at the governors[88]; but during our intercourse not a single indiscreet question escaped him.
He very much regretted the not having met in his cruize the frigates of our expedition.He would have considered it as a happiness and honour to have executed the generous intentions of his mistress, by furnishing the count de la Perouse with every assistance in his power. It is a debt that he owed, but had no other way of discharging, he said, except towards me. There was in reality no sort of kindness that he did not shew me.
Riding having extremely fatigued me, I was advised to sail up the Lena as far as Irkoutsk. This was the more agreeable to me, as it would give me time to recover, and as the delay it would occasion could not be more than four or five days. As soon as I had resolved upon it, M. Billings assisted me in procuring a boat, ordered two sails to be made of my tent, gave me one of his trusty soldiers for a pilot, and in short furnished me with every thing that might be useful in my passage.
The five days that I stayed at Yakoutsk were spent in preparations for my departure. I had leisure however to remark that this was the most pleasant and populous town I had yet seen in the whole extent of country through which I had passed.
It is built on the western side of the Lena; the houses are of wood, but large and commodious; that of the governor faces the port. The majority of the churches are of stone. The port, which is dry at low water, is formed by an arm of the river[89], that, in describing an angle, flows under the walls of the town. The vessels that trade here are merely barks; the greater part of them are used for transporting the provisions sent by government, such as salt and flour. The merchants hire or purchasethese boats, for the conveyance of their commodities, from the neighbourhood of the source of the Lena, where they are built.
The Yakouts come not to the town but when business obliges them; it is almost wholly inhabited by Russians. The effects of civilization are perceptible in their manners and customs; the social spirit, and the gaiety that is diffused among them, concur, with the interests of commerce, to keep up among the inhabitants that active intercourse which is the source of wealth, and augments the pleasures of life[90].
Having supplied myself with a fresh stock of provisions, I left Yakoutsk 5 July at one o’clock in the morning. In the northern latitudes, it is known, that for more than aweek the interval between day and night is scarcely perceptible. Already therefore the twilight announced the approach of the sun, and we could perfectly distinguish the sand banks that line this river as far as the first stage. Not being able always to avoid them, my guides, or rather the men who drew my boat, besought us every instant to place ourselves in the water like them, to assist in hauling it over the shoals. Frequently also, notwithstanding the enormous width of the river, we resolved to row a cross, with the hope of finding a more easy passage; but in this attempt the violence of the current drifted us half a werst, more or less, back again. Large pieces of ice were still visible on the bank, and would continue so, I was informed, all the year.
I shall not give a regular account of every day’s navigation. The observations it furnished are too little interesting not to sparethe reader the tiresome uniformity of such details.
The stages are estimated by stations, and are frequently thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, and even eighty wersts[91]. The reader may judge from this of the labour of those unfortunate beings who are condemned to this service, that is, to haul the boats from one station to another. For the space of twelve hundred wersts, this terrible employment is the punishment inflicted on convicts and malefactors. They share this labour with horses; but when the boat runs aground, the beast is supplied by a man, and then he has the most difficult passes to surmount. The only relief afforded to these culprits is a small quantity of flour allowed by government. The Yakout princes in the neighbourhood are obliged also to contributeto their support, and in case of need, to assist them with men and horses.
Many of these miserable beings are married; they retire with their families in isbas that are half in ruins, and scattered here and there along the right bank of the river. I was one day obliged by the rain to seek a shelter in one of these habitations; I chose the most promising, but in entering it I was nearly overcome by the noxious air, and words are too weak to describe the shocking picture of misery that struck my eyes. So far from finding a shelter in this house, I was in the course of a quarter of an hour almost deluged; the rain poured down like a torrent from every opening in the roof, and I preferred the braving it in my boat.
Fishing and hunting fill up the leisure hours of these out-laws; their vicious propensities are still the same, and they are influencedby no other motive than interest or fear. Upon the approach of a boat, they always attempt by flight to escape from the painful service imposed on them by government. They played me this trick more than once. When I arrived at a station, of five or six men who ought to be constantly ready to receive the commands of travellers, one only appeared; the rest had hid themselves in the woods, and my preceding guides were obliged to conduct me to the next station[92]. I recompensed these unfortunate creatures the more readily, as upon dismissing them I frequently saw their feet covered with blood.
They over-reached me one morning in a singular manner. A post boat going down the river, passed near ours; it wasGolikoff’s turn to watch. The cunning rascals asked his leave to change with their comrades, and they knew so well how to persuade him it was for our advantage, that he consented. Eager to inform me of our good fortune, he awaked me, but it was merely to make me a witness with what speed our villains sailed away, instead of joining the boat that drifted by us. The confusion of Golikoff at the sight may well be conceived; he knew not what excuse to make me, as we were obliged to draw the boat ourselves to the next station; fortunately however it was at no great distance. The men who had conducted the post boat were still there, and my two soldiers quickly engaged them in our service. Their ready compliance was I believe chiefly owing to the brutal tone of Golikoff; our adventure had put him so much out of humour, that he could no longer be prevailed upon to use moderation. “You do not know,” saidhe to me, “how to treat these rascals. If I were to imitate your example, we should be insulted at every poll, or be reduced to difficulties similar to what we have just experienced.”
Meanwhile we arrived 14 July at Olekma[93]without meeting with any other inconvenience. This town, the first I had seen since my departure from Yakoutsk, is seven or eight hundred wersts from it, though in the post expences it is only estimated at six hundred. It is situated at the mouth of a river of the same name, and is small, badly built, and offers nothing worth notice. I stayed there but two hours.
A few wersts on a small canoe came up to us, with only one man in it. He offered some bark of the birch tree, which he hadstripped in the neighbouring woods; my soldiers were eager to purchase it in order to cover our boat. My trader was a Toungouse, and belonged to a family that was settled on the left bank[94]. I did not lose so good an opportunity of being better acquainted with these people; I ordered therefore my boat to be fastened on the right bank, and accompanied only by Golikoff, I entered the canoe of the Toungouse, who was as highly pleased as myself with the visit I was going to make to his relations.
I was struck with the form and lightness of their canoes, the bottoms of which are however so nearly circular as to present but little surface to the water, and consequentlythey are easily overset. They consist of laths disposed in net-work, and covered with the bark of the birch tree sewn together and fortified with tar. The ends are narrow and pointed, and the oar is kept in equipoise in the middle of the vessel, so as to enable the rower to strike alternately with either end.
The Toungouses expressed the utmost joy at seeing me: surrounded, welcomed, caressed, I was at a loss how to answer their professions of friendship. A young deer was killed and laid at my feet; in making me this present, these good people regretted that their poverty deprived them of the ability and pleasure of being more useful to me. I was not able myself to be very bountiful in my presents, and I only showed my gratitude by leaving them some of my cloaths.
They are unsettled, like the wandering Koriacs, and live nearly in the same manner. Their yourts are not so large, and are covered with the bark of the birch tree; there is no other difference. Every family has a distinct yourt; the chief ornamental piece of furniture is a small wooden idol of the human shape, but with an enormous head; it is dressed in their cloaths, and decorated with rings, bells, and other pieces of metal. They give to this image the name of Saint Nicholas, in allusion to the patron saint of Russia.
I have already described the dress of the Toungouses, and have therefore only to speak of their features, manners, and mode of travelling.
They are not so large as the Yakouts, and have the sunk eyes, flat nose, and broad face of the Kamtschadales. They areequally hospitable; their characteristic qualities seem to be frankness and good-nature. In religion, they have the stupid credulity of the Koriacs, believing in all the absurdities of idolatry. The chamans equally obtain their homage and confidence: these impostors govern every where by means of the fears they inspire.
After fishing[95]and hunting, which in the season, oblige these families to be a little more settled, nothing engages their attention so much as their rein deer. These animals constitute all their wealth, and repay with usury the care bestowed upon them. They not only provide these people with food[96]and clothing, but docile tothe hand that guides them, they permit their masters, both men and women, to mount their backs, and ride them at a swift pace wherever they please[97]. Instead of harnessing them to a sledge, like the Tchouktchis and the Koriacs, they train them up to carry in this manner, and make them obedient to the motions of a bridle twisted about their horns. The saddle is ornamented, and of the same size as ours, but without stirrups; it is fastened by a very weak girt, and the rider, when he totters, has nothing to support him but a long stick with which he strikes his steed: it is manifest that this exercise requires great skill. The baggage is put into small panniers, covered with rein deer-skin, and fixed to the saddle, which hang on each side against the flank of the animal. During the stay of theToungouses in any place, the burdens are ranged methodically round their yourts.
My navigation became less disagreeable when I had reached Pelodoui, a large village, the inhabitants of which are Russians, descended from the first cultivators of Siberia, calledStarogili. There I was freed from the dangerous exiles, and had no other guides than honest peasants, who were equally assiduous and complaisant. The houses were not so distant from one another, and promised me at least some resource. In each of these villages there are six men appointed to conduct the business of the post: no privilege exempts them from this service; like all the Russian peasants they are annexed to the glebe, pay the same duties to the crown, and furnish recruits. The produce of their harvests are not adequate to their maintenance during the whole year; they are obliged to purchase and lay up a stockof corn. Rye is no where so dear as in this place; it sells at seventy or eighty kopecs thepoud.
Vitim is the village nearest to the preceding one. As it resembles all the Russian villages, I need not describe it; churches are less common than thecabacsor public-houses.
Birds are fond of the environs and the borders of the Lena, where they very much abound. The clouds of gnats which cover it, account for this. To keep off these insects, we had taken care to furnish ourselves with a quantity of horse-dung, with which we keep up a continual fire in our boat; but another unavoidable inconvenience on this river is the vermin it engenders; the more we bathe, the faster they multiply.
Four hundred wersts from Peledoui I passed by a small town called Kirinsk, or Kiringui, at the bottom of which the Lena flows, and farther on the Kiringa. In the midst of the houses, none of which make any figure, we could distinguish the church, which is built of stone.
The bank becoming wider and more sandy, we were frequently drawn by horses[98]. The ropes were weak, but it gave me no uneasiness; the pleasure of advancing inspired me with a blind confidence, for which I was soon punished. In the night of the 29, my boat touched upon a rock, which the darkness concealed from us. The rope broke with the violence of the shock, and our boat was in a minute full of water; we had only time to get out, in order to draw itupon the shore, which required all our efforts. I immediately mounted one of the horses, with my box before me. We were but four wersts from a village, and it was easy to have speedy succour. My boat was refitted in the course of the day, and the next morning I proceeded on my route.
In quitting the village of Ustiug, I perceived a considerable salt pit that was pointed out to me, and beyond it threezavodesor copper founderies.
My boat was broken a second time, and again hastily repaired; this day also, which was 4 August, my rudder, which continually struck against the bottom, was carried away, as well as a kind of keel that was fastened under the boat, and I abandoned it without hesitation. It became the perquisite of my faithful Golikoff.
I took horses at Toutoura, which is three hundred and seventy wersts from Irkoutsk, and having passed through the large village of Verkhalensk, I arrived the 5, at two o’clock in the afternoon, at that of Katschouga, where it is common to land in order to avoid the elbow of the Lena, and also because this river soon ceases to be navigable. In this village travellers are provided withkibitks[99], or Russian four wheel carriages, which are conducted by exiles, and from time to time by the Bratskis.
Between Katschonga and Irkoutsk is astepor uncultivated district, inhabited solely by these Bratskis, a colony of shepherds, supposed to be descended from the Tartars, so strongly do they resemble that people. There is something ferocious and savage intheir appearance; they are extremely addicted to robberies, and I saw one of them apprehended for stealing some cattle. Their flocks are numerous and consist of oxen, cows, horses, but chiefly sheep. The speed with which I travelled, prevented me from visiting their habitations, or making more minute observations respecting them.
We passed over a number of mountains, through very horrible roads, and which made my poor Golikoff frequently cry out, bruised by the continual jolting of our infernal vehicle; it was the first time he had experienced this mode of travelling. At length, having left the monastery of Voznessenskoï at our right, whence Irkoutsk begins to be visible, we came to a small arm of the river that winds along under the walls of the town, and which we crossed without coming out of the carriage. There I was stopped by a centinel, who was desirous,agreeably to his office, of informing the governor; but satisfied with my name and office, which I gave him in writing, he permitted me to go before him. It was about eleven o’clock in the evening of 6 August, when I entered this capital, having travelled, since I left Yakoutsk, fifteen hundred and ninety-four wersts.
I alighted at the office of police, to enquire for a lodging. Thekvarter-mester, or superintendant of that department, led me to a house, the master of which, far from obeying the orders injoined on him to receive me, deigned not to rise from his seat to declare his refusal. I saw the moment when the officer of the police, irritated at so uncivil a behaviour, was on the point of avenging his insulted authority. I succeeded however in pacifying him, and besought him to chuse me another lodging. In the interval thegorodnitsch, or commandantof the place, major Dolgopoloff, had heard of my arrival, and the trifling mortification I had experienced; he came immediately to the place, which I had scarcely taken possession of, made a thousand apologies for my having been so indecently treated and so badly accommodated, and in spite of all I could say in favour of my apartment, he obliged me to quit it, and to go with him. I lost not by the change: nothing could be more neat and elegant than the apartments to which he conducted me. It was a suite of rooms perfectly furnished and ornamented with paintings in fresco; but what pleased me most was the zealous attention that was bestowed upon me, and by which all my wishes were anticipated.
The next day M. Dolgopoloff presented me to the governor, major general Arsénieff, and I gave him the dispatches of M. Kasloff, as the governor general was then atPetersburg. I was highly flattered by the manner in which M. Arsénieff received me. After loading me with civilities, he insisted that I should have no table but his, and introduced me to his family[100], whose harmony, good sense, and cheerfulness, render his house a truly delightful habitation, and communicate their own character to the society whom their merits attract.
I profited of the disposition and obliging offers of the governor, to recommend to him with warmth my soldier Golikoff. The innumerable services which this brave fellow had rendered me, his fidelity, his devotedness and zeal, which had stood every proof, pleaded more strongly in his favour than my recommendation, and M. Arsénieffwas desirous of securing to himself so good a subject; but the ambition of poor Golikoff[101]wished for nothing farther than the being incorporated in the garrison of Yakoutsk, where he was attracted by affection to his father, who lived in that town, and attachment to M. Kasloff, under whose orders he considered it as a happiness to serve. Such sentiments increased the interest which my account of him had inspired, and my protégé instantly obtained the favour I solicited for him.
I afterwards made a visit to M. Poskatschinn, the intimate friend of M. Kasloff, whose recommendation procured me every species of civility. I found at his house a catholic priest, sent into Siberia to assist theChristians of the church of Rome, by his ministry. His usual residence is at Irkoutsk.
This town, the capital of the government of Irkoutsk and Kolivania, is situated on the border of the Angara, and near the mouth of the Irkout, from which it takes its name. Within its vast circumference many stone edifices are seen, and churches built with bricks; the wooden houses are large and commodiously distributed; its population is numerous, and its society brilliant; the multitude of officers and magistrates who reside there, have introduced the modes and customs of Petersburg. Every person in office has an equipage; rank and quality regulate the number of horses that draw their carriages, which are similar to ours.
I have already observed, that all the tribunals of the neighbouring provinces areunder the jurisdiction of those of this town; it is also the see of an archbishop, a venerable prelate, who exercises the functions of that office through the whole extent of this part of the Russian empire.
But it is to commerce that this capital is chiefly indebted for its splendour. By its situation, it is the entrepôt of that which is carried on between Russia and China. It is known that an intercourse is kept up by land; sometimes active, sometimes languishing; frequently interrupted, it has undergone so many variations, that it is necessary, in my opinion, to go back to the origin of this connection to judge of its consistence, and the improvements of which it is capable.
The first accounts are dated in the middle of the last century, about the time of the invasion of the Mantchew Tartars, who,having for a long time ravaged the northern provinces of the Chinese empire, at last subjugated it entirely. It was to a governor of Tobolsk, that Russia was indebted for the first idea of effecting this commerce, in consequence of an attempt made at Pekin by persons of confidence whom he sent thither. Far from being discouraged by the trifling success of these emissaries, Russian and Siberian merchants united together to profit, if it were possible, by their discoveries. They sent out a caravan in the year 1670, which brought back new lights upon the subject, and unequivocal proofs of the possibility of succeeding. From that time companies multiplied, the journeys became more frequent, and establishments increased.
This progress alarmed the Chinese, who resolved to set bounds to it. Forts were erected to restrain a neighbour, who, advancingnearer every day, by the river Amour, the Eastern Sea, and the Selinga, insensibly approached the frontiers of China. These defensive measures were the source of very warm disputes between the two empires upon the subject of their respective boundaries; a few hostilities took place, and at last an open rupture. Many years were spent in besieging places, in demolishing and erecting them in turns, till the year 1689, when the two courts, by the mediation of father Gerbillon and father Pereira, Jesuits, authorised by the emperor of China, signed, at Nertschinsk, a treaty of peace and perpetual alliance[102], which was to beengraven on two stones or posts erected on the confines of each empire.
By this reciprocity, there was a free commerce secured to all the subjects of the two powers, who were furnished with passports by their courts. Meanwhile China had taken care to be paid for her condescension by the surrenders she demanded of Russia, who lost not only an important part of its possessions, but the navigation of the river Amour as far as the Eastern Sea.
To make amends, or with a view of deriving greater advantages from this commerce, Tzar[103]Peter the Great commissioned, in 1692, Isbrand Ives, a Dutchman, in his service,to ask of the court of Pekin, the same privilege for caravans, which the late treaty granted to individuals. The result of the embassy corresponded with the desires of the court of Petersburg; the caravans were admitted; and as the court reserved to itself the exclusive right of sending them, it received the whole of the profit[104]. These journeys lasted three years; caravanseries, for the exchange of their commodities, were appointed for the Russian merchants who composed the caravans, and during their stay at Pekin their expences were discharged by the emperor.
This calm did not long continue between the two powers. New troubles, occasioned by the misconduct, drunkenness, and insolentproceedings of some Russians, in the midst even of the Chinese capital, had nearly annihilated their commerce. The embassy of Ismaïloff saved it. By the skill of this negociator, captain of the guards to the Tzar, the disorders were stopped, and the complaints suppressed; security and confidence succeeded to this misunderstanding. To preserve this happy disposition, Laurent Lange remained at Pekin, under the denomination of agent to the Russian caravans.
Upon, the departure of this resident, affairs continually declined and the enormities of the Russians increased. They excited the pride and distrust, natural to the Chinese. The refusal to deliver up a number of hordes of Mongouls, who were become tributary to the Tzar, completed the indignation of the emperor; every Russian was banished from his territories, andthere was no longer any communication between the two nations.
In 1727, count Ragouzinskoi, ambassador from Russia to the successor of the vindictive Kam-hi, effected the renewal of these commercial ties by a new treaty, that fixed irrevocably the bounds of each empire[105], and subjected the merchants to an invariable regulation, calculated for ever to remove all source of division.
The court of Russia was permitted to send a caravan to Pekin once in three years, and the number of merchants was limited to two hundred. On their arrival at the frontiers of China, they were to inform the emperor, that a Chinese officer might be sent to escort them to the metropolis, where their expences would be defrayed duringthe time of their traffic. It was agreed also that the merchandize belonging to individuals should not pass the frontier, and that they should no longer enjoy the privilege of trading in any of the Chinese or Mongoul territories. Of consequence, two places were assigned them on the confines of Siberia, the one calledKiakhta, from a stream that waters the environs, the otherZurukhaire[106], situated on the left bank of the Argoun, and they were obliged to deposit their merchandize in the magazines of these two settlements.
In spite of the solemn ratification of all the clauses of this compact, its execution encountered various impediments; the leaven of resentment fermented, or dishonesty gave birth to fresh knaveries. Be this as it may, in the space of twenty seven years,only six caravans sat out from Russia; and after the last envoy this commerce fell into a state of languor consequent upon the loss of credit.
I suppress the detail of grievances alledged by the Chinese against the Russians. Many well known historians have given an account of the complaints that occasioned the successive emigrations of the Kalmouk Tartars, and a multitude of Toungouses, who were all received by the court of Petersburg; we have seen its subtle policy, moderate and threatening in turns, always evading the satisfaction demanded by China.
These disputes continued till the accession of the reigning empress. No sooner had Catherine II. ascended the throne, than she renounced, in favour of her subjects, the monopoly of furs, and the exclusive rightof sending caravans to Pekin. This act of justice and beneficence, worthy the genius and heart of this empress, was still insufficient to give to this commerce its antient vigour. The enmity between the two nations was farther heightened by the fickleness of these Toungouses, who, tired or discontented with their new establishment, suddenly eloped from the dominion of Russia, and returned to their country to replace themselves under the Chinese authority.
It has since been seen that the two nations, discarding all animosity, entered into a sincere connection, and that the intercourse between the merchants became every day more active and interesting. As the Russian factories multiplied at Kiakhta, which is peopled, enlarged, and fortified, the Chinese resorted to the settlement of Zurukhaire or Naïmatschinn; the commissaries on each side presided in the exchangeof commodities, and the Mongoul language was adopted in the contracts which were made by interpreters.
The Russians have not the advantage in this commerce. The Chinese, who trade in a body, are infinitely more watchful over their interests and circumspect in their dealings; they know how to discover the real value of the Russian commodities, and they have the skill to sell their own at the price they first fix, and from which they never depart. Tea, for instance, procures them an immense profit[107]; they sell it so dear that the purchasers are afterwards obliged to get rid of it with loss. To indemnify themselves the Russians endeavour to raise the price of their skins, of which the Chineseare extremely fond; but the cunning of these people puts them on their guard against this trick.
It would be too tedious to enumerate in this place all the articles that enter into these exchanges. I refer the curious reader to Coxe or Pallas, who are both diffuse on the subject. By a calculation which they made of exports and imports at Kiakhta, in the year 1777, the amount of this commerce was estimated at four millions of roubles; but since that time, various accounts deserving of credit assert that it has considerably lessened, and at present it may be said to be reduced to nothing[108].
I had no preparation to make for my departure, but that of purchasing a kibitk[109].I no longer troubled myself about provisions, as I was sure of finding wherewith to subsist myself at every stage. The governor gave me aporadojenei, or a passport, as far as Petersburg. It was resolved that I should be escorted by a soldier of the garrison, whose courage and fidelity were known, and that one of the couriers of the governor general, who had particularly recommended him, should accompany me to assist me by his services and experience.
I took leave of M. Arsénieff; his son and M. Dolgopoloff insisted upon conducting me to the first stage, in spite of all my remonstrances. We were seated in the carriage, where my honest Golikoff came with tears in his eyes, conjuring me to permit him to accompany me as far as these gentlemen; it was, he said, the sweetest recompence I could bestow on him. This last instance of attachment affected me, and I felt that in complying with his request, my pleasure was not less than his.
Having crossed in a ferry boat the river Angava[110], we soon arrived to the place of our separation. While I repeated my thanks,and took leave of my two friends, Golikoff, concealed behind my carriage, endeavoured to hide his tears, and recommended me to the care of the soldier who succeeded him. His despair burst forth when my horses were harnessed; he embraced my knees, and exclaimed that he would never quit me. It was to no purpose I repeated that, as he well knew, I had no right to take him; my reasonings, my caresses, nothing could prevail on him to leave his hold; it was necessary to force him from my feet, then from the carriage, which he seized on being torn from me. Never, I believe, had my sensibility experienced a more violent shock; I departed with a wounded heart. The regret of not having been able to follow the dictates of my gratitude[111]still torments me, and I can only hope that he may be informedof it, for I cannot flatter myself that I shall ever see him again.
I am obliged at present to discontinue my practice of making notes every day. My journey to Petersburg was so rapid, that is, from 10 August to 22 September, that it was impossible to observe the same accuracy; for this reason also the reader will pardon the brevity of my observations. The country through which I passed has beside been described by so many accurate and intelligent pens, and these travellers have given so much attraction and interest to their recitals, that I should only be accused of presumption, or plagiarism, if I attempted to enlarge on a subject, which they profoundly studied, while I had scarcely time to skim the surface. Many of these performances[112]are recent, and the curiosity ofthe reader may be amply satisfied by them. I shall only speak of what relates to myself.
I first passed through a small canton inhabited by Bratskis. Are not these the same people described by other French writers, under the appellation ofBurates? Beyond Oudinsk I came to Kransnoyark, where I stopped twenty-four hours to repair the axle-trees of my carriage. This town derives its name from the red and steep bank of the Yenisei, which runs under its wall.
I afterwards entered the desert, calledBarabinskoi-step. The post service is performed by exiles of every description, whose settlements are at the distance of twenty-five, and sometimes fifty wersts from one another. These unfortunate beings live inthe same manner as those who conducted me from Yakoutsk to Peledoui; they are neither more serviceable nor less ferocious, and their indolence is still more mortifying.
Accustomed to the fertile and rich country about Irkoutsk, cultivated by the laborious Starogili, the eye cannot survey, without pain, this barren waste. We are disposed to ascribe this melancholy contrast to the sloth of the perverse inhabitants, though it is acknowledged that the soil yields them no return. One might say, that in conformity with the vindictive hand that pursues them, Nature acts towards them as a step-mother; the earth, to which justice has banished them, seems to feel a reluctance in bearing them; its withered bosom refuses all success to their culture.
My courier, who had the rank of serjeant,did not treat these miserable creatures with more attention than was expedient. To enforce obedience, he frequently made use of his stick, and my remonstrances could not restrain him from these sallies, which he called, in pleasantry, his reigning sin. One day he had near paid for his cruelty in a terrible manner. Arriving at a stage we found no horses; the man upon whom the business this day devolved, had been guilty of the daring crime to absent himself, in order to get hay. Two hours passed away, and no one appeared; my courier at length resolved to go himself, with my soldier, and seize the first horses they could find. In about half an hour they returned, in a very angry humour, with a single horse, for which they had been obliged to fight. While they were relating the transaction, the man whom they accused of being the aggressor, ran to complain to me of their having plucked off half his beard. At thesame moment I was surrounded by more than fifty persons, assembled from I know not where, for as we entered the village, we could perceive no one but thestarost. They seemed to contend who should reproach him most; I spoke a long time without being heard. My courier, instead of assisting me in pacifying them, ran to the postillion, who returned from the fields, and made his arm pay dearly for the delay he had occasioned us. The man, whose beard had been torn off, prepared to avenge his comrade, but the soldier, by order of the courier, prevented him, and I was obliged to deliver him from his hands. By dint of vociferation and entreaties I at last suspended the fury of the combatants. I had great reason to applaud myself for my moderation; the spectators were enraged at the treatment their neighbour received; they would infallibly have murdered us, if I had not immediately ordered my two indiscreetattendants to return to the carriage, and the postillion to make haste and harness the horses. The crowd was desirous of pursuing them, but at last I succeeded in appeasing it, and they escaped with a few invectives. I hastened to my kibitk, and did not think myself safe till I was out of their reach.
I trembled lest this event should circulate; in the mean time, till my arrival at Tomsk, a town at the end of this desert, I saw not the least appearance of commotion. My people were eager to carry their complaints before the inspector general, and to my great mortification they appealed to me as a witness. This officer explained to me the dangerous influence the affair would produce upon the maintenance of order and subordination, if these exiles of Baraba were not severely punished; he accordingly preparedto set out for the spot, to make an example of them.
My visit to the governor of Tomsk soon consoled me for this disagreeable adventure. I found him to be a Frenchman, of the name ofVilleneuve: his rank was that of colonel; I was received by him as a countryman, and I need say no more to express our mutual joy at meeting. I conceived myself to be already in France.
The town of Tomsk is tolerably neat; it is partly upon an eminence, where the house of the governor predominates, and the other part descends to the river Tom. I only staid while my wheels were repairing.
I met many companies of exiles, or galley slaves[113], and I was advised to be on myguard against them. As individuals frequently escape, the peasants are obliged to pursue them as much from duty as for their own safety. Nothing is in reality more easy than for these exiles to make their escape on the road; they are well guarded, it is true, but they are never fettered. I have seen in woods as many as eighty destined to the same place; they were divided into companies of four, five, or six men and women, who followed at the distance sometimes of two or three wersts. They are afterwards distributed in the different mines of Siberia: these were going to Nertschinsk.
I crossed the principal rivers of this province, as the Oka, the Yenisei, the Tom, the Obi, which the Russians call theOb. On the last I ran a considerable risk in a small ferry, which was in so wretched a condition, that in the middle of the river it filled withwater. We should have found some difficulty in saving ourselves, but for a smaller boat, that I had had the precaution to fasten to the ferry, and others that were quickly brought to our succour by the inhabitants on the opposite side.
Before I arrived at Tobolsk, I passed the Irtisch twice, the last time near the mouth of the Tobol. This capital, situated between these two rivers, would have been one of the most beautiful towns of Siberia, but a fire has made such havock as to reduce the greater part of it to ashes. Prior to this event, it was in two divisions, the upper town and the lower town; the one, built upon the platform of a mountain, presented many beautiful edifices of stone; the other was made up of wooden houses, which were the first devoured by the flames. By degrees the fire reached the upper part of the town and the stone houses, where itleft nothing but the walls. I made no stay at this melancholy scene; the impression it made upon me was equally deep and forcible, and I shall never forget the air of consternation that was visible in the inhabitants, who, from the highest to the lowest, laboured indefatigably, but in mournful silence, to repair their losses. Already the ravages begin to disappear, and the foundations of some houses and shops, all rebuilding of stone, arise above the surface: it is probable that the rest of the town will have the same solidity.
In quitting it I passed the Irtisch a third time to reach Catherinebourg, or Yekaterinbourg, where I stayed twenty-four hours, that my carriage might again be repaired. I employed the time in visiting a gold mine in the neighbourhood, and the place where the copper money is coined.
I refer the reader to the authors I have already cited, for a description of the colonies of Tcheremisses, Tschouvaschis, Votiaguis, and Tartars. I shall only say of these last, that the neatness of the inside of their houses astonished me, doubtless because I had been a little too much accustomed to the contrary defect among the Kamtschadales, Koriacs, &c. These Tartars lead sedentary lives; they are husbandmen, and have considerable quantities of corn and cattle: the religion they profess is the Mahometan.
The head dress of the Tcheremisses struck me with its singularity; it is a small shell of wood, eight or ten inches long, and four or five broad, placed near the root of the hair upon the forehead, and the upper part with an inclination forward. This is fastened with a knot, and then covered with an handkerchief, white embroidered or figured,and, out of preference, they chuse the most glaring colours and the most crowded patterns. The handkerchief, which is very large, and hangs loosely behind, is edged with a broad fringe, or lace of gold or silver, in proportion to the wealth or luxury of the wearer. The rest of their dress cannot better be compared than to a robe de chambre.
I met a caravan of Bohemians who asked me for money, and informed me that they were going to people and cultivate a small canton on the borders of the Wolga, near Saratoff.
The necessity of having my passport examined by the governor of Casan, and the difficulty of procuring horses, as I arrived late, kept me in this town till break of day. The Wolga, which washes its walls, renders the situation pleasant; the houses are for the most part built of wood, and thechurches of stone. I was told that it is the see of an archbishop.
Beyond the Wolga[114], a river famous for its navigation, and which pours itself into the Caspian sea, I passed before the towns of Rouzmodemiansk and Makarieff. The latter, celebrated for its linen manufactures, is, property speaking, but a village. I was at a small distance from it, and had just crossed a bridge, ill constructed, and that trembled under my carriage, when my impatience was near costing me my life. My postilion, animated by my repeated exhortations, drove me with great rapidity[115]: on a sudden I heard something strike hard againstthe box of my kibitk; I thrust out my head, and received a blow that made me instantly fall back in my carriage. A cry, uttered by the courier who rode with me, informed me that I was wounded. In reality a stream of blood ran down my forehead: the carriage stopped, I alighted; it was the circle of my wheel that was broken, the edge of which had struck me with the greater violence, in consequence of our speed. On putting my hand to the wound, it appeared large and deep: I conceived that the skull was injured, and I considered myself as a dead man.
It is here I can say with truth, that language is too weak to describe the excess of my despair. After surmounting so many obstacles, so many perils; at the very gates of Petersburg, where I ardently longed to embrace, in my arms, the best of fathers, whom I had not seen for four years; on theeve of entering my native country, of acquitting myself of my embassy, by delivering my important dispatches, and to be struck by a mortal blow! The reflection overcame me; I felt my knees tremble and my head turn round; the succours of my companions fortunately brought me to life: I armed myself with courage, tied a bandage tight about my head, the wheel was adjusted in the best manner it could, and we soon gained the preceding stage to Nijenei-novogorod.
I left my kibitk in this village to the care of my soldier, with orders to have it repaired, and to follow me immediately to the next town. While my post carriage was harnessing, and my box put into it, I entered a public house, and had some very strong brandy poured into my wound, and a good compress placed on it, which enabledme to proceed to Nijenei-novogorod, which was from twenty-five to thirty wersts.
The surgeon major, at whose house I stopped, was not at home, and in order to wait for him, I was conducted into a most filthy habitation. The desire of not being known, and the uncertainty I was in respecting my wound, induced me not to announce myself to the governor. In the afternoon I returned to the surgeon’s, but to no purpose. Impatient of suffering, without knowing what might be the effect of my wound, I asked if there was no one else who could assist me, and they mentioned apodleker, or surgeon’s mate, who, after many difficulties on his part, came to me. His address gave me no favourable impression respecting his talents and sobriety; it had all the bluntness and tottering gait of a drunken man. In the mean time the necessity of having my wound probed, overcamethe repugnance I felt of trusting myself to such hands; but the wretch had forgotten his instruments. Who would suppose that a pin was the probe he borrowed? Having examined it, he informed me, in a fluttering manner, that my skull was laid open, but not at all fractured, and that with the application of brandy and water I might continue my journey; he then advised me to be blooded. The idea of trusting my arm to such a drunkard made me shudder. Having thanked, paid, and dismissed him, I got into my carriage, happy to be rid both of the operation and the operator.