Part 12

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.

I alighted at the office of police, to enquire for a lodging. The _kvarter-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 the _gorodnitsch_, or commandant of 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 at Petersburg. 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. Arsénieff was 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.