Part 8

This second success inspired me with so much confidence, that I no longer doubted of the possibility of transporting our sledges in the same manner. I communicated my ideas to my soldiers: animated by my example, and by the event of their first experiment, they cheerfully returned with me for this new undertaking. By my order they had unharnessed a part of the dogs; they now fastened to the four corners of the sledges long thongs of leather which I directed to be held by those who were before and behind the vehicle. We presently found the utility of this precaution; our sledges were sometimes wider than the parapet, and of consequence only rested on one skate, so that the load must have overturned them into the water if they had not been strongly supported; at other times the ice, as I have said, was entirely gone, when it was necessary to give them a sudden elevation in order to preserve their equilibrium. The muscular arms of my guides were scarcely equal to the weight, and it was sometimes as much as all of us could do to keep one another from falling. It was to no purpose, for us to grapple the rock; it was perpetually to be feared that one of us should draw in the other, or that the ice should suddenly fail under our feet. We however suffered nothing but the apprehension.

We returned once more to fetch the rest of our dogs. It seemed as if these poor animals judged better than ourselves of the extent of the danger, so much did they bark and draw back, particularly at the difficult passages. It was to no purpose to cheer them with our voice, it was necessary to strike them, or to pull them rapidly after us. There were four of them, who from aukwardness or terror, could not leap like the rest. The first perished in our sight without the possibility of our assisting him[48], the second remained suspended by his fore feet; one of my guides, supported by his comrade and leaning forward, was fortunate enough to save him; the other two were supported by their traces, and were easily extricated from the peril.

These various crossings backward and forward occasioned us seven hours incessant labour and apprehension. We were no sooner out of danger than we returned thanks to heaven like so many persons escaped from death. We embraced one another with transport, as if each had owed to his companion the preservation of his life. In short, our happiness was better felt than it is in my power to describe.

We made all possible haste to remedy the disorder of our equipage, and immediately proceeded on a flinty strand, the breadth and solidity of which relieved us from all disquietude. In about two hours, at a little distance from the ostrog of Armani, we met a number of sledges returning empty to Ola, and which of course could have no other way than that which we had just passed. We informed the conductors of the difficulty, and wished them equal success.

The village of Armani is eighty wersts from Ola. It consists merely of two yourts, a summer and a winter one, situated by a river of the same name. We passed on to the house of a Yakout, three hundred paces farther, where, it was said, I should find a better lodging. It was a yourt in the middle of a large wood of fir trees, and had been inhabited by him thirty years.

In his absence his wife received me with the utmost cordiality. She offered us milk, and a sourish beverage made chiefly of mare’s milk, called _koumouiss_. Its taste was by no means disagreeable; and my Russians, in spite of their superstitious aversion for every kind of food that comes from the horse, highly relished it. The husband arrived while this was passing, who was a venerable old man, but as yet full of health and vigour. Informed of the object of my journey by his wife, and my soldier Golikoff, who, being a native of Yakoutsk, served as interpreter, my host instantly cleaned the most distinguished place in the room that I might repose myself. I was awaked by the lowings of the herd which came into the yourt. Eight cows, a bull, and a number of calves, divided the apartment with me. Notwithstanding this company, there was an appearance of cleanliness, and the air was sweet and wholesome. This Yakout does not pass his time like the Koriacs and Kamtschadales, in catching and preparing fish, a species of food upon which he sets little value; hunting, and the care of his cattle, occupy his whole attention, and supply all his wants. Besides his herd, he has also ten horses, which he uses for various purposes, and which are kept in an inclosure at a little distance from the yourt. Every thing about this habitation has an air of ease, and creates in the spectator tranquil and cheerful feelings. I know not whether the sight of the herd, the appearance of plenty, or the excellence of the milk provisions communicated some charm to our repast, but I conceived it to be the most sumptuous I had made for a considerable time. The master of the house had the kindness before my departure to add some game to my stock of provisions.

We separated the same evening mutually satisfied with each other. I travelled the whole night, and arrived in the morning at the fort of Taousk, being a distance of forty-two wersts. This ostrog, where, in conformity to the plan we had laid down, we spent the day, is situated on the river Taon. It contains twenty isbas, a small church served by the vicar of Okotsk, and a building for the reception of tributes, surrounded by palisades in the form of bastions. Twenty Yakouts, two chiefs, and some other Koriacs, who, attracted by the situation, have settled there, make up the whole of the inhabitants. The garrison consists of fifteen soldiers, commanded by a serjeant named Okhotin, at whose house I took up my abode till the evening.

In the night I passed through the village of Gorbé, peopled by Yakouts, and a small number of Koriacs. At break of day we lost sight of the sea. We had for some time journeyed upon the banks of the Taon, and gradually we advanced farther into the land. During 1 and 2 May, we travelled through fields, and upon the river Kava, without perceiving a single habitation.

The 3, at the very instant when we were about to halt in the middle of a wood of fir trees, a gale of wind rose, accompanied with a heavy snow. My tent, suspended over the sledges containing our baggage, served us for a shelter. But it was necessary to have a fire. My conductors, who undertook to procure wood, were buried as high as their waists in snow, and even with their rackets they sunk up to their knees. In the afternoon the wind changed, and the sky became clear. We immediately mounted our sledges, but the depth of the snow obliged us to alight in turns to open a passage for the dogs.

In the morning of 4 May, we passed over the mountain of Iné, two hundred and twenty wersts from Taousk. It may be compared in height to that of Babouschka. When at the summit, the cold pierced us to such a degree that we stopped to kindle a fire. In about five hours we came again to the sea, which we left at a short distance from the village of Iné, where we arrived in the dusk of the evening.

This ostrog is thirty wersts from the mountain, and is peopled by Russians and Yakouts, whose habitations are isbas and yourts. They have the care of a stud of two hundred horses, which we had an opportunity of seeing, ten wersts from the village. I intended to have changed my team, and sat off again immediately, but I was detained by the difficulty of procuring dogs. The chief of the place was dead drunk, and it was not till after an hour’s importunity and search that we were able to procure an adequate supply.

Twenty-five wersts from Iné, where, that I might make the greater speed, I had left my equipage under the care of my faithful Golikoff, with orders to follow me as quickly as possible, I passed two yourts inhabited by Yakouts and Toungouses. The name of this hamlet is Oulbé. Farther on I met a number of convoys with flour, which was to be distributed in the neighbouring villages, and made into biscuits to supply the ships of M. Billings, of whom I shall presently have occasion to speak.

We came again upon the coast, and I travelled forty-seven wersts without quitting it, during which time I saw a number of sea wolves, and a whale driven upon the shore. At the top of the mountain called Marikann, that is at the distance of twenty-five wersts, I had the pleasure to discover the town of Okotsk, but I was attacked by a gale of wind that made me apprehensive of a new delay. Regardless of every thing but my impatience, I continued my route, resolving to brave all accidents. My courage however was not put to the test; before we reached the shore the weather was calm, and I was able to satisfy my curiosity by examining the wreck of a vessel that was driven on the coast. Having crossed, with trepidation, the river Okhota[49], I entered Okotsk 5 May, at four o’clock in the afternoon, accompanied only by Nedarezoff.

I alighted at the house of major Kokh, vested with the command in the absence of M. Kasloff, whose arrival with me he had long expected. The governor’s letter informed him of the cause of our separation, and I gave him a brief account of the melancholy circumstances attending it. I hastened to pay my compliments to Madame Kasloff, and deliver the packets entrusted to my care, but she was in the country four wersts from Okotsk, and I was so fatigued that M. Kokh would not permit me to wait upon her that day. An express was sent off with the letters, and my apologies, and I fixed on the next day for my visit. Presuming that I principally stood in need of repose, the major obligingly conducted me to the apartment destined for me in the house of M. Kasloff. I found every convenience of which I had been deprived ever since my departure from Ingiga. In the space of three hundred and fifty leagues I had not, except once at Yamsk, slept in a bed.

As soon as I rose in the morning I was visited by M. Kokh, and the principal officers and merchants of the town. M. Allegretti, surgeon to the expedition of M. Billings, was among them. From the facility with which he spoke the French language, I should have taken him for a countryman, if he had not, upon introducing himself, informed that he was an Italian. My meeting with him was the more fortunate, as the pain in my breast had returned. I hesitated not to consult him, and am happy in having an opportunity to declare, that to his skill, and the care he bestowed upon me during my stay, I am indebted for the perfect cure of my complaint.

M. Kokh conducted me to his house to dinner, where I had an opportunity of becoming better acquainted with him[50]. His kindness extended so far as to form a thousand plans of amusement, which he was eager to communicate with the hope of inducing me to make some stay with him.

If my duty had not prohibited every voluntary delay, I could not easily have resisted the urgency of his invitations, and the fascinating pleasure of his society; but faithful to my trust, it was necessary to sacrifice my inclinations and my repose to the rapidity of my journey. I convinced my host of this, and yielding to my reasons, he became satisfied with my eagerness to quit him, and even seconded my zeal by assiduously providing the means for my departure.

The rain had been incessant since my arrival, and the people who were sent out to examine the roads, conceived them to be impassable, at least with dogs. From their report, the daily increase of the thaw deprived me of all hope of advancing farther, unless by means of rein deer, and M. Kokh therefore sent an express to a horde of wandering Toungouses that had left Okotsk a few days before, to procure me a supply of these animals.

Having taken these measures, the major accompanied me to Boulguin, the country house of Madame Kasloff, who received me as the friend of her husband, and the companion of his dangers. The object of her affections was the subject of our whole conversation. She demanded an account of all our difficulties at the period of our separation. It was in vain that I attempted to soften in my description such circumstances as were calculated to impress themselves too forcibly; her sensibility told her that it was from an unwillingness to give her pain, and it only alarmed her the more. I did not well know how to console her, for I was not myself without anxiety respecting this valuable man; but assisted by M. Kokh, I assumed with tolerable success an air of serenity. I had recourse to conjectures; and the major, on his part, mentioned a variety of consoling expedients; and at last we restored tranquillity to the mind of this affectionate wife, by flattering her with the speedy arrival of M. Kasloff. This lady was born at Okotsk, and appeared to have had the best education; she spoke the French language with elegance. In the solitude of her retreat, her chief happiness was placed in educating a daughter about three years old, the express image of her father.

Having made all my visits to the officers of the garrison, I returned to Boulguin to dine with Mrs. Kasloff, as I had promised, when she gave me letters to her relations at Moscow.

The next day our express arrived, but he had not been able to overtake the Toungouses, who had separated, and were dispersed through the country. Here ended of course our hope of rein deer. Meanwhile it seemed necessary that I should not defer my departure, as the roads became worse every day. The longer I wait, said I to myself, the less capable shall I be of reaching the cross of Yudoma before the rivers are entirely broken up, and the greater will be the risk of my being stopped by the floods. Filled with these reflections, I renewed my entreaties that M. Kokh would allow me to proceed. It was in vain he alledged the many disagreeable circumstances I should experience, the obstacles I should encounter, the dangers to which I should be exposed, from the season being too far advanced to travel with sledges; I persisted in my resolution. At last he complied, and promised to give the necessary orders, that nothing might prevent my setting off the next day, upon condition that I would return the moment I found myself in any imminent danger. I was glad to obtain my liberty, and consented to all that he proposed. I spent the remainder of the day in walking about the town in order to give a description of it, accompanied by a number of persons who were able to assist my enquiries.

Longer than it is wide, the town of Okotsk extends nearly in a direct line from east to west; the sea is at the south within a hundred yards of the houses, and the interval between consists of a flinty strand; at the north the walls are washed by the Okhota; to the east is the mouth of this river, that is, at the extremity of a neck of land upon which the town is built, and that extends from thence to the west. The town has nothing in it extraordinary; the structure of the houses has little variety, as they are only isbas, a few of which, situated to the east, are larger and more commodious than the rest, and are destined for the use of the officers. M. Kokh lives at the other end of the town; the gate of his court yard opens into the high street, the regularity of which is broken by a square, in which are the house of the governor, and the sessions-house, both of them under the same roof. Opposite to them is the guard-house, and on the left side of the square the parish church. These buildings have no very splendid appearance. They were formerly enclosed with palisades, of which there are still some vestiges. The remains of a gate to the west of the government house, shews that this was what they called a fortress. Behind it is a street reaching almost to the river, inhabited by tradesmen, whose shops, regularly arranged, line each side of the street.

The port is so very insignificant, that I could not have called it by this name, if I had not counted in it seven or eight vessels or galliots, some of them belonging to the crown, and others to merchants, who carry on a fur trade with America. The port is to the east, almost at the extremity of the town, and near the river, by a kind of appendage to which it is formed. Upon the invitation of M. Hall, lieutenant in the navy, I accompanied him to the dock to see two small ships that were building for the voyage of discovery intrusted to M. Billings. The sailors, soldiers, and carpenters, had been sent out at a very considerable expence; and the armament, which goes on rapidly, must cost the empress an immense sum.

Faithful to his promise, M. Kokh had made all the preparations for my departure, and 10 May in the evening, my sledges being loaded and harnessed, I took leave of him and the rest of the officers, who expressed their desire of seeing me return.

My company was augmented by two men, who were to serve me as pilots on the river Yudoma. I travelled all night, notwithstanding the wretched state of the roads, which corresponded with the report that had been made. They were completely covered with water, and in some places, the woods in particular, it reached to the bellies of our dogs. The wind continued south, the sky became more clouded, and every thing indicated that the thaw was not likely to cease.

In the mean time, having crossed the river Okhota, I arrived without accident to the village of Medvejé-golova, or _bear’s-head_, which is forty-five wersts from Okotsk, and is inhabited by Russians and Yakouts. I entered very early in the morning, but our dogs were so weary that I was obliged to spend the day and even the night there, being unable to procure a fresh supply.

I had hoped to be at Moundoukan the next day, which is twenty wersts from the preceding ostrog. Half way a part of our dogs refused to draw, and we reluctantly ventured upon a river that seemed to offer us a more commodious way. We had scarcely advanced a few paces, when we heard a sudden crack under our sledges; the next moment I felt myself gently sink, but a piece of ice still kept me up. It broke a second time, and my skates became almost invisible. Every effort to extricate myself would have been fruitless, as the least motion must have carried me forward and plunged me into the water. Fortunately it was only four feet deep; by their exertions, my people at last drew me from my embarassment, but they were nearly as much in want of assistance themselves. Deaf to the remonstrances of my conductors, I was desirous of proceeding, but we soon found it necessary mutually to aid each other in gaining the bank. Meanwhile the snow melted so rapidly, that our dogs paddled in the water without advancing a step, and fell one upon another exhausted with fatigue.

Among my guides was a serjeant, whom M. Kokh had given me for my better security. His reputation for courage and experience led me to consider him as my compass and guardian, and I kept my eye fixed upon him, observing his motions and studying his countenance, which had hitherto been inflexibly composed. In the midst of the murmurs of the rest of my company, he had not uttered a word nor altered a muscle of his face, so as to discover any emotion. I naturally construed this silence into a disavowal of the fears with which they attempted to fill me, and his tranquillity as an encouragement to go on. Never had my astonishment been greater than to see him suddenly stop, protesting that he would not proceed a step farther. I interrogated him, and urged him to explain himself. “I can no longer be silent,” he answered, “influenced by a sentiment of vanity, and a desire to display superior courage, I have hitherto withheld from giving my opinion respecting the hazardous measure you are desirous of pursuing; but the more I admire your intrepidity, the more I think myself bound to prevent the fatal consequences it may occasion, and to inform you of the many dangers and obstacles that will every instant spring up before you. The majority of the rivers are already disencumbered of their ice, and could you so far succeed as to pass them, you would soon be overtaken and surrounded by the floods. What will then be your resource? To seek an asylum on a mountain or in a forest, if you should be fortunate enough to meet with one. Like the inhabitants[51] of these cantons in such circumstances, can you build yourself a cabin on the tops of the trees, there to remain a fortnight or three weeks till the waters shall subside? And are you sure that even in this lofty retreat they will not reach you, or force you down, together with the tree that serves as your support? Are you sure that your stock of provisions will preserve you, during this interval, from the apprehensions of famine? If this summary view of the calamities that await you are not sufficient to intimidate you, proceed; you are your own master; I have done my duty, and must beg leave to quit you.”

This blunt remonstrance, and the terrible prediction it contained, did not fail to make a strong impression on my mind, and I considered that I could not do better than return immediately to Okotsk, from which we were only fifty-five wersts distant.

We reached Medvejé-golova the same evening, where I stayed till four o’clock in the afternoon of the next day. From thence to the river Okhota I felt no other inconvenience than that of travelling very slowly, but to compensate for this short respite, we experienced, when we came to cross the river, new perils and new alarms. I confess that I was equally terrified with my people, and dared neither measure with my eye the width of the river, nor lose sight for a moment of the trace of my sledge. The instability of the ice, which was moved up and down by the current, made me apprehensive that it could not bear the weight of so many passengers, and I expected every instant that an abyss would open and swallow up some of us. At length having gained the bank, we counted over the company one after another, to convince ourselves that no one was lost, and the pleasure of having escaped this tremendous danger, gave wings to the remainder of our journey to Okotsk, where we arrived the 14 at noon.

So speedy a return, occasioned some pleasantries on the part of M. Kokh and the other officers; each reminded me of his prediction; but I was less confused at the folly of my attempt, than mortified and distressed at its failure. I calculated with grief that my stay in this town would not perhaps be less than a month. Engrossed by a thousand melancholy ideas, I was for some time incapable of returning any answer to the demonstrations of joy and friendship which were heaped upon me. All the obstacles I had met with from my first landing at the port of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, occurred at once to my mind, and I conceived that the invincible hand of fate opposed itself to the success of my embassy. It was to no purpose that I employed every means of being expeditious; it was to no purpose that I had pushed my zeal to rashness, and on many occasions hazarded both my life and my dispatches. What a distance was I still from Petersburg! In the mean time six months are frequently known to be sufficient for this journey; and a vessel leaving Bolcheretsk in July, will, if it meet with no accident, commonly arrive at Okotsk in three weeks or a month, and sometimes in twelve or fifteen days. From Okotsk to Yakoutsk, on horseback, is only the business of a month, and in like manner from Yakoutsk to Irkoutsk, whether we sail down, the Lena, or ride along its banks. At Irkoutsk it will probably be necessary to wait six weeks till the frost sets in, and by means of sledges it is easy travelling to Petersburg in a similar portion of time; the governor general has performed it in twenty eight days.