almost the same fate. We have seen that in 1597 an order was issued to
pull down both playhouses; this order, however, was never carried out.
But after the removal of The Theatre to Bankside, The Curtain seems to
have gone its own way. The actors, on the whole, were not afraid of
pleading their cause from the stage, and of retorting on the attacks of
their assailants by lashing them with the whip of caricature, and it
seems that those of The Curtain had gone a little too far in their
Aristophanic parodies of their worthy fellow-citizens and chief
magistrate; for in May, 1601, the justices of the peace for the county
of Middlesex received the following admonition from the privy council:
"We doo understand that certaine players that used to recyte their
playes at the Curtaine in Moorefeilds, do represent upon the stage in
their interludes the persons of some gent of good desert and quality
that are yet alive under obscure manner, but yet in such sorte that all
the hearers may take notice both of the matter and the persons that are
meant thereby. This beinge a thinge verye unfitte, offensive and
contrary, to such direction as have been heretofore taken, that no
plaies should be openly shewed but such as were first perused and
allowed, and that minister no occasion of offence or scandall, wee do
hereby require you that you do forthwith forbidd those players to
whomsoever they appertaine that do play at the Curtaine in Moorefeildes
to represent any such play, and that you will examine them who made that
play and to shew the same unto you, and as you in your discrecions shall
thincke the same unfitte to be publiquely shewed to forbidd them from
henceforth to play the same eyther privately or publiquely; and if upon
veiwe of the said play you shall finde the subject so odious and
inconvenient as is informed, wee require you to take bond of the
chiefest of them to aunswere their rashe and indiscreete dealing before
us."
We know nothing of the result of this prosecution, but we may be allowed
to assume that it did not result in very severe measures. We seem to
read a certain concealed sympathy in the writ of the great lords, and we
cannot help suspecting that it was the Puritan citizens who felt
themselves hit and who brought the complaint. If the lords had been the
butt of the mockery, no doubt the proceeding of the actors would have
appeared to them much worse than "rashe and indiscreete."
Until the Globe theatre was built, the Burbages most likely possessed a
share in The Curtain. At any rate, their company used that building
alternately with their own; no doubt, for instance, during the period
between the pulling down of The Theatre and the building of the Globe.
During this period they played (as "The Lord Chamberlain's Men"), among
other things, no less famous a piece than Ben Jonson's _Every Man in
His Humour_, which, according to old tradition, was accepted on the
recommendation of Shakespeare, after having been put aside contemptuously
by the other leading actors. This splendid play had an enormous success.
Of Shakespeare's plays, _Much Ado about Nothing_ and _The Second Part of
King Henry IV_ were acted.
There is scarcely any reason for assuming, with Halliwell-Phillipps and
Ordish, that the first performance of _Henry V_ took place at The
Curtain. At the appearance of this play, in 1599, the Globe theatre was
built, and we cannot doubt that it was here that this popular play saw
the light. So the frequently mentioned "wooden O" in the prologue does
not allude to The Curtain, but to the Globe.
The outward shape of The Curtain we must imagine to have been, like that
of The Theatre, circular, and unroofed in the centre. It is generally
supposed to have been somewhat smaller than Burbage's first theatre.
The last period of the existence of The Curtain is enveloped in
obscurity. But there is no reason to suppose that it did not continue to
exist till all playhouses were put down, during the civil war,
1642-1647. If The Curtain was preserved as long as that, its life was
longer than that of any other playhouse of the Shakespearean period.
COSSACK CONQUEST OF SIBERIA
A.D. 1581
NIKOLAI M. KARAMZIN[1]
Siberia, the northern home of the Tartars, was little known, even to
the Russians, until the latter part of the sixteenth century. The
Cossack conquest of the western portion of the region now called
Siberia opened that vast territory to Muscovite occupation, and
gradually it has become known to the world as part of the Russian
empire.
[1] Translated by Chauncey C. Starkweather.
Nothing certain is known of the origin of the Cossack tribes, and no
final agreement has been reached as to the derivation of their name.
According to later supposition, their nucleus was a body of refugees
from the ancient Russian lands invaded by Tartars in the thirteenth
century. Some of those refugees settled between the embouchures of
the Ural River, others near the mouth of the Don. Driven by invasion
to form themselves into a military organization, the Cossacks of the
Don became a formidable confederacy. Since 1549 they have been under
the protection of Russia, and have rendered great service to the
empire.
Although they have always, since the time of Ivan IV, called the
"Terrible" (1547-1584), furnished valorous soldiers to Russia, the
Cossacks of the Don have often rebelled and disowned her authority.
Russian troops have frequently been ordered to exterminate them.
During the last years of Ivan IV these Cossacks entered upon that
eastern conquest which led to Russian expansion into Asia. Karamzin,
the Russian historian, is the most eminent authority on this subject.
Among the enterprising leaders of the Cossacks at this time were Iermak
Timofeif, John Koltzo--condemned to death by the Czar--James Mikhailoff,
Necetas Pan, and Matthew Meschteriak, all noted for their rare
intrepidity. The Stroganoffs, having heard of the terror inspired by
their audacity among peaceful travellers, as well as amid the nomad
tribes of the neighborhood, proposed an honorable service to these five
brave men. On April 6, 1579, they sent them presents, accompanied by a
letter in which they urged them to quit an occupation unworthy of
Christian soldiers, to leave the class of brigands, and to become
warriors of the White Czar, the monarch of Muscovy; to seek, in fine,
dangers exempt from dishonor, by making peace with God and Russia. "We
have," they added, "lands and fortresses, but few soldiers; come and
defend great Perm and the Christian countries of the North." At these
propositions Iermak and his companions shed tears of emotion. The hope
of effacing their disgrace by glorious deeds, by services rendered to
the State, the idea of exchanging the title of audacious brigands for
that of brave defenders of their country, caused a keen sensibility in
these men, uncouth, if you will, but with hearts still susceptible of
remorse. Unfurling their standard on the bank of the Volga, they made an
appeal to their comrades, and assembled five hundred fifty bold
partisans, at the head of whom they arrived, burning with zeal, in the
presence of the Stroganoffs, who received them with joy, as the annalist
relates. The desires of the former, the promises of the latter, were
realized. The Cossack leaders became the bucklers of the Christian
country. The infidels trembled at the aspect of death which met them
wherever they dared to show themselves. Indeed, on July 22, 1581, the
Cossacks completely overthrew the mirza Begouly, who at the head of
seven hundred Vogulitches and Ostiaks, had ravaged the colonies founded
upon the Silva and the Tchusovaya. This success was the forerunner of
more considerable advantages.
The Stroganoffs had in view not merely the defence of their cities, in
calling the Cossacks to their service. When they had sufficiently tested
the courage and fidelity of these warriors, and had learned the talent
and boldness of Iermak Timofeif, their principal leader--of obscure
origin, the annals say, but illustrious by his greatness of soul--they
formed a troop especially composed of Tartars subject to Russia, of
Lithuanians and of Germans, ransomed from captivity among the Nogais,
for the latter brought, as a matter of custom in their encampments, the
prisoners whom they made in war, as mercenaries of the Czar. In fine,
after having made provisions of arms and of food, the Stroganoffs openly
announced an expedition, which, under the orders of Iermak, should have
Siberia for its objective point. The number of fighting men amounted to
eight hundred forty, all animated with zeal and transported with joy.
Some dreamed of honor, others thought of the spoils. The hope of
meriting their pardon by the Czar inflamed the Cossacks, and the German
or Polish captives, who sighed for liberty, considering Siberia the road
to their fatherland. Iermak began by organizing his little army. He
named the hetmans, subaltern officers, and appointed the brave John
Koltzo as second in command. Long-boats were laden with munitions of war
and food, light artillery and long arquebuses. He procured guides,
interpreters, priests, had prayers said, and received the final
instructions of the Stroganoffs. The latter were conceived in the
following terms: "Go in peace to scour the country of Siberia and put to
flight the impious Kutchum." After having taken the oath of valor and
chastity, Iermak set out, on September 1, 1581, at the sound of warlike
trumpets, on the Tchusovaya, and directed his march toward the Ural
Mountains, preparing himself for great activity, without counting upon
any assistance. This expedition was even made without the knowledge of
the Czar, for the Stroganoffs, who had obtained the grant of the
countries situated on the other side of the chain of rocky mountains,
thought themselves able to dispense with soliciting of the Czar a new
sanction for their important enterprise. We shall see that Ivan did not
share this opinion.
At the moment when the states of Kutchum were to become the conquest of
the Russian Pizarro--as redoubtable for the savages as he of Spain, but
less terrible for humanity--the Prince of Pelim with the Vogulitches,
the Ostiaks, the Siberian Tartars, and the Bashkirs made a sudden
irruption upon the borders of the Kama. He destroyed the Russian
colonies near Tcherdin, Ussolie, as well as many other new fortresses of
the Stroganoffs, and put to death or dragged into captivity a great
number of Christians who were deprived of defenders. But at the news of
the march of the Cossacks against Siberia he left our frontiers to fly
to the defence of his own states.
The crime of these depredations was laid to the Stroganoffs. Upon a
report of Basile Pilepitsin, Governor of Tcherdin, Ivan wrote him that
he was either unable on unwilling to look after the frontiers. "You have
taken upon yourself," he added, "to recall proscribed Cossacks, true
bandits, whom you have sent to make war upon Siberia. This enterprise,
suited to irritate the Prince of Pelim and the sultan Kutchum, is a
treason worthy of the last punishment! I command you to cause Iermak and
his companions to start without delay for Perm and Ussolie on the Kama,
where they may be able to efface their faults by forcing the Ostiaks and
the Vogulitches to submission. You may retain at the most one hundred
Cossacks for the security of your little towns. In case you shall not
execute my commands to the letter, if in the future Perm has still to
suffer the attacks of the Prince of Pelim or of the Sultan of Siberia, I
shall overwhelm you with the weight of my disgrace and I shall have all
those traitors of Cossacks hanged." This menacing despatch made the
Stroganoffs tremble. Nevertheless, a brilliant, unexpected success
justified their enterprise and changed into favor the wrath of their
sovereign.
In beginning the story of the exploits of Iermak we shall at first say
that, like everything that is extraordinary, they have made a strong
impression upon the imagination of the vulgar, and have given birth to
many fables, which are confused in the traditions with the real facts.
Under the title of "annals" they have led the historians themselves into
error. It is thus, for instance, that some hundreds of warriors, led by
Iermak, have been metamorphosed into an army, and, like the soldiers of
Cortés or Pizarro, have been counted as thousands. The months became
years. A somewhat difficult navigation appeared marvellous. Leaving at
one side the fabulous assertions we shall, for the principal facts, base
our statements upon official documents and on the most truthful
contemporaneous account of a conquest which was, indeed, of a most
surprising character.
In the first place, the Cossacks ascended, for four days, the course of
the Tchusovaya, rapid and sown with rocks, as far as the chain of the
Ural Mountains. The two following days, in the shadow of the masses of
stone with which the interior of these mountains is covered, they
reached, by means of the river Serebrennaia, the passage called the
"Route of Siberia." There they stopped, and, ignorant of what might next
happen to them, they constructed for their safety a kind of redoubt to
which they gave the name of _kokui_. They had so far found only deserts
and a small number of inhabitants. Then they moved, towing their small
crafts as far as the river of Iaravle. These places are, even to this
day, marked by the monuments of Iermak; rocks, caverns, remains of
fortifications, bear his name. It is asserted that the big boats
abandoned by him between the Serebrennaia and the Barantcha are not, in
our time, entirely decayed, and that lofty trees shade their ruins, half
reduced to dust. By the Iaravle and the Taghil the Cossacks, reaching
the Tura, which waters one of the provinces of the empire of Siberia,
for the first time drew the sword of conquerors. At the place where the
city of Turinsk now stands there then existed a little town, the domain
of the prince Yepantcha. He commanded a large number of Tartars and
Vogulitches, and received these audacious strangers with a hail of
arrows, shot from the banks of the river, at the place where is seen the
present village of Usseninovo; but, frightened by a discharge of
artillery, he forthwith took flight. Iermak caused the town to be
destroyed, of which the name alone remains, for the residents still give
to Turinsk the name "Town of Yepantcha." The camps and villages situated
along the Tura were devastated.
The Cossack leaders having taken, at the mouth of the Tavda, an officer
of Kutchum's, named Tausak, he, desirous of saving his life,
communicated to them important information regarding the country. As the
price of his frankness, his liberty was given him, and he hastened to
announce to his master that the predictions of the soothsayers of
Siberia were being realized, for according to some accounts these
pretended sorcerers had for a long time proclaimed the near and
inevitable downfall of this state by an invasion of Christians. Tausak
spoke of the Cossacks as wonderful men and invincible heroes, lancing
fire and thunder which penetrate through the cuirasses. Nevertheless,
Kutchum, although deprived of sight, had a strong soul. He made ready to
defend his country and his faith with courage. He at once gathered all
his subjects, made his nephew Mahmetkul enter the campaign at the head
of a large force of cavalry, and he himself threw up fortifications on
the bank of the Irtisch, at the foot of the Tchuvache mountain, thus
closing to the Cossacks the road to Isker.
The conquest of Siberia resembles, in more than one regard, that of
Mexico and Peru. Here, also, it was a handful of men who, by means of
fire-arms, put to flight thousands of soldiers armed with arrows or
javelins. For the Moguls, like the Tartars of the North, were ignorant
of the use of gunpowder, and toward the end of the sixteenth century
they still used the arms employed in the time of Genghis. Each one of
Iermak's warriors faced a crowd of the enemy. If his bullet only killed
one of them, the frightful detonation of his gun put to flight twenty or
thirty. In the first combat, held on the bank of the Tobol, at a place
called Babassan, Iermak, under shelter of intrenchments, checked by some
discharges of musketry the impetuosity of ten thousand men of
Mahmetkul's cavalry, who rushed forward to crush him. He at once attacks
them himself, carries off a complete victory, and, opened, as far as the
mouth of the Tobol, a route whose perils were not yet all dissipated.
Indeed, from the height of the steep banks of the river called
Dolojai-Yar the natives poured a shower of arrows on the boats of the
Cossacks.
Another less important affair took place sixteen versts from Irtysh, in
a country governed by a tribal chief named Karatcha, situated on the
shore of a lake which up to to-day bears the name of this intimate
counsellor of the sovereign of Siberia. Iermak having made himself
master of the enemy's camp, found rich booty there, consisting of
provisions of all kinds, as well as a large number of tuns of honey,
intended for the consumption of the sovereign.
The third combat, on the Irtysh, was bloody, and stubbornly fought. It
cost some companions of Iermak their lives, and served to prove how dear
even to barbarians is the independence of their fatherland; for the
defenders of Siberia displayed resolution and intrepidity. Nevertheless,
they yielded the victory to the Russians toward the end of the day,
awaiting a new battle, and without losing either courage or hope. The
blind Kutchum left the fortifications in order to camp upon the
Tchuvache mountain. Mahmetkul was intrusted with the guard of the
intrenchments, and the Cossacks, who the same evening captured the
little town of Atik-Murza, dared not take repose for fear of an attack.
Already the troops of Iermak were visibly diminished. Some Cossacks had
been killed and many wounded, and amid constant fatigues a great number
of them had no strength nor valor left. The leaders profited by this
night of unrest to hold a council on the course to take, and in this
consultation the voice of the weaklings was heard.
"We have satiated our vengeance," they said. "It is time to turn back.
New combats will be dangerous for us, since very soon we shall be unable
to conquer any more for lack of fighters."
"Brothers," answered the leaders, "there is left only one road for us,
and that is the one in the front of us. The rivers are already covered
with ice. In turning our backs, we shall perish amid the snows. And if
we were fortunate enough to get home to Russia, we should arrive there
with the tarnish of perjury, for we have pledged ourselves to conquer
Kutchum or to blot out our faults by a generous death. We have lived
long with a dishonored reputation. Let us know how to die after having
acquired a glorious one! It is God who awards the victory, and often to
the weaker, blessed be his name!"
"Amen!" responded the troop. At the first rays of the sun the Cossacks
hurled themselves on the intrenchments through a cloud of arrows,
crying, "God is for us!" The enemy themselves threw down their palisades
at three different points. The Siberians rushed out sabre or lance in
hand, and engaged in a hand-to-hand conflict which was disadvantageous
for the warriors of Iermak, who were too inferior in numbers. Men fell
on all sides: but the Cossacks, Germans, and Poles formed an unshakable
wall, loaded their guns in good order, and, by a sustained attack,
thinned the ranks of the enemy, whom they drove toward their
intrenchments. Iermak and Koltzo, at the first line, accomplished
prodigies of valor, repeating in a loud voice, "God is for us!" while
the blind Kutchum, placed upon the mountain, in the midst of his imams
and his mollahs, invoked Mahomet for the salvation of his true
believers.
Happily for the Russians, Mahmetkul, being wounded, was obliged to quit
the fight, and the mirzas carried him in a skiff to the other bank of
the Irtysh. At this news, consternation spread throughout the hostile
army. Deprived of its leader it despaired of victory. The Ostiak princes
take flight. They are followed by the Tartars. And Kutchum, learning
that the Christian banners are already floating over the intrenchments,
seeks his safety in the deserts of Ischim, having hardly had time to
remove a part of his treasure from his capital city. This general and
bloody battle decided the domination of the Russians from the chain of
Ural Mountains to the shores of the Obi and the Tobol. It cost the
Cossacks one hundred seven of their bravest warriors, and up to the
present day prayers for the repose of their souls are offered in the
Cathedral of Tobolsk.
On October 27th Iermak, already illustrious for history, after returning
thanks to heaven, made his triumphant entry into the town of Isker, or
Sibir, situated on an elevation on the bank of the Irtysh. It was
defended on one side by intrenchments and a deep moat; on the other, by
a triple rampart. According to the annalist, the conquerers found
immense riches in gold, silver, Asiatic cloth of gold, precious stones,
furs, and so forth, which they shared among themselves like brothers.
The town was entirely deserted. These warriors, who had just conquered a
kingdom, did not see a single inhabitant here. They glutted themselves
with gold and sables, and lacked for food. Nevertheless, three days
later, they saw the Ostiaks arrive, led by their prince Bohar, who came
to bring them presents and provisions, to take the oath of fidelity, and
to ask for mercy and protection. Soon there also appeared a great number
of Tartars with their women and children. They were accorded a gracious
reception by Iermak. He quieted them and let them return to their camps,
after demanding from them a small tribute.
This man, recently the leader of a band of brigands, who had just showed
himself to be an intrepid hero and a skilful captain, likewise employed
his extraordinary genius in matters relating to administration and to
military discipline. He inspired rude and savage peoples with an extreme
confidence in a new power. He succeeded by a just severity in curbing
his turbulent companions-in-arms, so that they dared not practise any
vexations in a country conquered by their boldness and through a
thousand dangers, at the extremity of the world. It is related that the
inflexible Iermak, managing the Christian warriors in the combats,
treated them with rigor for the least fault, and that he punished
disobedience and fornication equally with death. He not only exacted
complete submission from his whole troop, but also purity of soul, in
order to render himself agreeable to the master of the earth and to the
Master of heaven, persuaded that God would accord him the victory with a
small number of virtuous warriors, rather than with a large number of
hardened sinners. "His Cossacks," says the annalist of Tobolsk, "led a
chaste life, on the march as well as during their stay in the capital of
Siberia. Their battles were followed by prayer." But they were not yet
at the end of their dangers.