THE PORT OF KARAOUL AND ITS INHABITANTS.
The tundras of Northern Siberia—The Samoyedes—Arrival of the
_Phœnix_—My first Russian meal—Vodka and tea—Our departure for
Kasanskoi.
[Illustration: KARAOUL.]
In my last chapter I told you how we had safely reached Karaoul, the
destination of the _Biscaya_, and that, to our great disappointment, the
ship which ought to have been there to meet us was not at the rendezvous.
What could have happened to her? Naturally, the first idea that suggested
itself was that she had run aground and was unable to get off, encumbered
as she was with the heavy barges that she was towing down from Yeniseisk
to take back our cargo in. It was manifestly out of the question
attempting to proceed any farther without a pilot, so it was decided to
wait where we were, in the hope of the _Phœnix_ turning up during the
next day or two.
In the evening we all went ashore to have a look round, and were received
on landing by quite a pack of native dogs, which, however, only offered
a mild protest against an invasion by barking at us from a distance. A
limp-looking individual, dressed in the usual Russian costume, with the
inevitable top-boots, strolled listlessly down towards the beach with his
hands in his pockets, and stared at us in an aimless sort of fashion.
The dismal loneliness of the surroundings had evidently had their effect
on him, and he was incapable of arousing himself to anything requiring
a mental effort, for he did not evince the slightest interest in our
arrival, strange and unusual though it certainly must have been to him
in this out-of-the-way sort of place. We found, however, that he still
retained the use of his tongue, and my slight knowledge of German then
proved very useful, as it turned out he was not a Russian, but hailed
from the “Vaterland.” He informed us that he was the only white man in
the place (which, by the way, only contained as many inhabitants as there
are letters in its name), and usually spent the summer months there
looking after the Samoyede fishermen who were working for the merchant
who owned the dilapidated wooden buildings. In the winter he was employed
as a butcher at Yeniseisk, and very glad he was to get back again there,
as he said he had a fearfully dull time of it here, with not a soul to
speak to except the Samoyedes, and very little work to do even when fish
was brought in to salt. One could not help pitying a man who was so down
on his luck as to be obliged to bury himself alive so far from his native
land in order to earn his daily bread.
There was not much to see on the beach, so we started for a walk over the
hills, and had a very pleasant ramble through country which reminded one
not a little of the Scottish Highlands. Everywhere we were knee-deep in
luxuriant grasses and moss, while all around flowers were growing in wild
profusion—it was almost like being in a huge deserted garden. I noticed
no end of old friends, such as the wild thyme, campanella, and mountain
daisy. It was hard to realize that the ground is eternally frost-bound a
foot or so beneath the surface, and that all this wonderful vegetation
only comes up during the few months when the ground is not covered
with snow; for during the greater part of the year there is absolutely
nothing to relieve the white vista of the endless rolling plains, which
are then deserted by even the aborigines themselves. We came across a
solitary Samoyede grave on the hillside, the spot being marked by two
sledges standing ready packed as for a journey. The Samoyedes thus leave
their dead, and the custom is almost touching in its simplicity. All the
earthly belongings of the deceased are placed on the sledges, covered
with a reindeer skin, and abandoned to the mercy of the elements, with no
other protection than a rudely carved forked stick stuck in the ground
close by to frighten away evil spirits. They have no fear of robbers,
as they know that their own people would not desecrate a grave, and to
strangers the few primitive articles on the sledges would not offer much
temptation; still, I must confess, it rather made my mouth water to see
such a lot of tempting curiosities thus abandoned.
[Illustration: THE SAMOYEDE’S GRAVE.]
On our way back to the ship we had a look in at the loghouse, and one
look was almost enough for most of us, as the heat inside was simply
stifling; for, although it was quite a warm summer evening, all the
windows appeared to be hermetically closed, and the large stove was in
full blaze. There was nothing particularly striking about the interior,
which was but a poor Russian home. I could not help remarking the extreme
order in which the place was kept; everything seemed to have its place,
to which it was scrupulously returned when moved.
[Illustration: A SAMOYEDE LADY.]
We then paid a visit _en passant_ to the Samoyede hut, or tent, or
whatever they call the bundle of dirty rags that serves them for a
sort of shelter. Inside we saw an old man, two women, and four or five
half-naked children huddled together, in an indescribable state of filth,
round a few smoking embers which were intended to represent a fire. The
stench was so great that it seemed more like looking at a den of wild
beasts than at human beings. The river might have been ten miles away,
instead of only as many yards, for all the use they ever made of it.
It had been decided that the next day our steam launch should be sent
on a voyage of discovery up the unknown reaches of the mighty river, in
search of the missing _Phœnix_. The launch had already been thoroughly
overhauled, so without delay a supply of provisions, sufficient to last
at least three months, was put on board of her, and three of our party
told off for the expedition. At eight o’clock the next morning all was in
readiness, and the little launch, packed absolutely to the gunwale and
towing a boat full of coal for her engine, started on her venturesome
journey, her crew looking very uncomfortable in their cramped quarters:
still, as it was a lovely day, the sun shining brilliantly, it almost
made one envy them their trip, if they had such weather all the time.
There was just a slight mist on the river, so they were not long getting
out of sight, blowing us a final good-bye with their steam whistle, to
which we replied by firing a volley with our rifles. Our now reduced
party then returned to the cabin to finish breakfast, wondering how long
we were doomed to wait at Karaoul in glorious inactivity.
At the end of the meal, as we were getting up from table, we were
startled by hearing the launch’s whistle blowing with great vigour close
at hand. We all rushed on deck, fearing some accident had befallen
her, when, to our astonishment, we saw her returning at full speed,
while close behind her, towering above the mist and with all her
colours flying, was the ship she had gone in search of. We were simply
dumbfounded, as the situation was almost too absurd; for, had the mist
only lifted, or the launch been detained only a quarter of an hour, we
must have seen her before her pursuer could have started, and thus saved
ourselves a lot of trouble. As may be imagined, the gallant crew of the
launch came in for a lot of good-humoured chaff, and we were able to
congratulate them on the successful result of their mission and their
safe return. In a very short time the _Phœnix_ was alongside, and we then
learnt that she had been delayed by the number of barges she had had to
tow—so much so, in fact, that, in order to save time, it had been decided
to leave most of them some twenty miles behind, at a convenient spot,
and come on with only one, so as to commence the transhipment without
any more unnecessary delay, and then return for the rest. No time was
lost, therefore; and in less than an hour after we had shaken hands with
those on board the steamer, our hatches were off, the steam winches going
merrily, and the cargo being rapidly taken out of the hold, under the
supervision of a stately Russian custom-house officer, who was attended
by two Cossacks.
[Illustration: TRANSHIPMENT OF OUR CARGO TO THE “PHŒNIX.”]
The _Phœnix_ appeared to be crowded with men, as compared with our small
crew of twelve. I learnt afterwards that no less than forty-five men
had been brought down from Yeniseisk to work the barges and get in the
cargo, and that among this big crowd there was a baker, a butcher, and
a man specially told off to attend to the live stock, of which they
had quite a farmyard, on one of the barges. They evidently knew how to
make themselves comfortable while they were about it. I spent an hour
in watching the men working at the cargo, and could not help coming to
the conclusion that with a little less talk a good deal more work could
have been accomplished in the time; there seemed to be too many foremen,
and all seemed to differ in their orders at any critical moment, and
so helped to increase the confusion which was already caused by the
jabbering of the men. It was, however, a picturesque and interesting
sight, this crowd of rough, unkempt men, with their coloured blouses and
their loose trousers, tucked into high boots, reminding one not a little
of bold buccaneers in the good old Adelphi dramas; and although, perhaps,
they did not put quite as much energy into their movements as they might
have done, they made up for it in “effect,” from an artistic point of
view—an effect which was heightened by a quaint sort of chorus they sang
at intervals. They struck me as being a much better-looking lot of men
than an average crowd of the same class in England, and looked well fed
and contented with their lot. A few among them, I was informed, were
exiles who have served their time, but who prefer to continue living in
Siberia, where, from what I can gather, the general opinion is that one
is better off as an exile than as a free man in Russia itself.
We had our first taste of Russian cooking that morning, as we all lunched
on board the _Phœnix_—and a very good lunch it was, although it certainly
was very trying to have to eat without drinking, as is the Russian
custom, and I mentally decided to live _à la Française_ while in Holy
Russia. At the end of the meal a hissing samovar was brought in, tea
was brewed, and a decanter of vodka passed round, and we all agreed that
vodka makes a very good substitute for whiskey, but that weak tea without
milk, drunk boiling hot out of tumblers, would take some getting used
to, as it evidently is an acquired taste, and wants educating up to by a
prolonged stay in Russia. The cabin of the _Phœnix_, though small, was
so clean and cosy that it seemed quite a treat to have a decently served
meal after all the “pigging” we had had to put up with on the _Biscaya_;
it made us almost wish for the time to come when we should transfer our
quarters to her for the river journey. Everything looked as prim as on
a yacht, from the white paint on the deck-house to the deck itself,
which was kept perfectly clean. I feel sure that were the _Phœnix_ to
return once more to her native port of Newcastle, her old owners would
not recognize, in the smart-looking river boat, their quondam steamer,
so thoroughly has she been altered and Russianized. The next day it
was decided to go back to where the other barges had been left by the
_Phœnix_, so our anchors were weighed, and both vessels started.
It took only a few hours to reach Kasanskoi, the next “station,”
which was destined to be our _pied à terre_ for some little time. The
scenery on the way up was tame, and varied but slightly from what I
have previously described; in fact, so flat and uninteresting was it at
times that one could see rolling plains of green for miles and miles
ahead without even a bush to break their monotony. The effect called
“mirage” is very peculiar in these regions. At times distant headlands
appear to go right away up into the sky, and one sees clouds and river
underneath them; sometimes great holes appear, as it were, in the sides
of the hills, and daylight thus seen through them; even on the darkest
and greyest days these effects are noticeable. As the time was now
fully occupied in getting the _Biscaya’s_ cargo safely transferred to
the barges, and as during these operations the _Phœnix_ could be of no
service to us, it was arranged that she should proceed down to the mouth
of the river and wait for the other ship and the tug, which were to have
followed us out from England, and, in the event of their turning up, to
pilot them back to where we were. So we were to have Kasanskoi all to
ourselves for a few days. There being now little of interest to me in the
well-known ship, I decided to explore the neighbouring hills, so would
go ashore by myself in the early morning with my gun and my sketch-book,
and wander about to my heart’s content. There was very little to shoot,
and still less to sketch; nevertheless it was very delightful, after
being cooped up for so many weeks, to find one’s self once more alone
and free as the air on these boundless plains. The bright sunshine, the
familiar flowers, the birds chirping merrily as they flitted from bush to
bush—in fact, the whole scene was the very antithesis of what one would
have expected to see on the bleak tundras of Northern Siberia. It was
almost with a feeling of sadness that one reflected how changed all would
be in a few short weeks hence—for in these high latitudes the seasons
change without any perceptible prelude. At a certain moment of each year,
generally about the end of May, the snow melts away under the influence
of the almost tropical heat of the sun, which now ceases to set; the
earth wakes from her long sleep during the dark months of the Arctic
winter, luxuriant grasses spring up, the flowers appear as if by magic,
hundreds and thousands of migratory birds arrive, the air resounds with
the buzzing of insect life;—it is summer. For about three short months
this wonderful transformation lasts; then gradually the sun disappears,
the long nights return, the piercing north wind commences to blow, and in
a very short time—sometimes in a single night—the ice-king resumes his
sway, the frost-bound earth disappears under a thick pall of snow, and
all is darkness and desolation in the awful silence of the Arctic winter.