Volume 2 — TRAVELS IN KAMTSCHATKA, &c. (continued 3)

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 from the 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 these subjects. 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 of Siberia, 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 savage inhabitants, 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 whom some 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 vanquished to 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 every kind 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 discipline among 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 directed to 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 neighbouring powers, 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 quarter of 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 accruing to 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 consent of 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 called paï. 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 desertions and plunderings; it was to no purpose that all the criminals, whom it was possible to apprehend, were subjected to the battogues, 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 intrusted to 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 cape Svetoï, 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 the superintending 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 had the 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 for the 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 myself with 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 river Yudoma. 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 might count 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 infallibly have 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. From this 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 expired a 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. Hall and M. Loftsoff, who were to stay in this place. I first climbed a high mountain called Ourak, 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. Our steeds 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 the afternoon, 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 the neighbourhood, 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 be very 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 call bourdouk, 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 no farther 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 animal and 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 of the 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; my uneasiness 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 woods the 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 belonging to 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 the animal. 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 without hesitation 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 of this 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 these soldiers, 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]. On examining 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 cover the 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 he had 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 to reproach 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 its waters 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 necessarily pass. 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 called porog.

We had still a difficult pass to make, that terrified my people; it is called Podporojenei, 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 towards it. 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 called Tschortofskoï-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 a fever, 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 are mountains 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 which we 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 as Amgui. According to my itinerary, I was to go by water to Belskaïa-pereprava, which is in the usual course from Okotsk to Yakoutsk, 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.

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 them all 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 a bird 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, particularly while 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 crossing of 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 the knesetsk, 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 informed that 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 small cabins 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, called koumouiss. 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 pastures serve 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 his village. 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 a bouben, 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 beneath it 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 tempted no 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.

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.

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 the cows, 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 solemn procession. 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 being concluded 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, called sarri, 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 horses ready 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 called Amguinskoi-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 of another 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 their ourassis, 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 ornamented in 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 called Yarmangui, 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 he had 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 could judge 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 to sup 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 purchase these 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 a week 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 spare the 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 contribute to 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 influenced by 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 was Golikoff’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,” said he 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 had stripped 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 consequently they 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 are equally 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 to the 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 the Toungouses 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, called Starogili. 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 stock of corn. Rye is no where so dear as in this place; it sells at seventy or eighty kopecs the poud.

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 the cabacs or 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 it upon 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 three zavodes or 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 with kibitks[99], or Russian four wheel carriages, which are conducted by exiles, and from time to time by the Bratskis.

Between Katschonga and Irkoutsk is a step or 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 in their 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.