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Two spellings, “Tunguse” and “Tunguze,” are used throughout the
book for the same tribe.
The caption of Illustrations #55, 58, 103, 144 differ from the
captions given in the table and were not changed.
[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE, THE AUTHOR IN SIBERIAN COSTUME]
OVERLAND THROUGH ASIA. PICTURES OF SIBERIAN, CHINESE, AND TARTAR LIFE.
Travels and Adventures in Kamchatka, Siberia, China, Mongolia, Chinese
Tartary, and European Russia, with Full Accounts of the Siberian Exiles,
Their Treatment, Condition, and Mode of Life, a Description of the
Amoor River, and the Siberian Shores of the Frozen Ocean. With an
Appropriate Map, and Nearly 200 Illustrations.
by
THOMAS W. KNOX.
Author of “_Camp Fire And Cotton Field._”
ISSUED BY SUBSCRIPTION ONLY, AND NOT FOR SALE IN THE BOOK STORES.
RESIDENTS OF ANY STATE DESIRING A COPY SHOULD ADDRESS THE PUBLISHERS,
AND AN AGENT WILL CALL UPON THEM.
HARTFORD, CONN:
AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY.
F. 6. GILMAN & CO., CHICAGO, ILLS.; NETTLETON & CO., CINCINNATI, OHIO.
H. H. BANCROFT & CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.
1871.
PREFACE.
Fourteen years ago Major Perry McD. Collins traversed Northern Asia,
and wrote an account, of his journey, entitled “A Voyage Down the
Amoor.” With the exception of that volume no other work on this little
known region has appeared from the pen of an American writer. In view
of this fact, the author of “Overland Through Asia” indulges the hope
that his book will not be considered a superfluous addition to the
literature of his country.
The journey herein recorded was undertaken partly as a pleasure trip,
partly as a journalistic enterprise, and partly in the interest of the
company that attempted to carry out the plans of Major Collins to make
an electric connection between Europe and the United States by way of
Asia and Bering’s Straits. In the service of the Russo-American
Telegraph Company, it may not be improper to state that the author’s
official duties were so few, and his pleasures so numerous, as to
leave the kindest recollections of the many persons connected with the
enterprise.
Portions of this book have appeared in Harper’s, Putnam’s, The
Atlantic, The Galaxy, and the Overland Monthlies, and in Frank
Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper. They have been received with such
favor as to encourage their reproduction wherever they could be
introduced in the narrative of the journey. The largest part of the
book has been written from a carefully recorded journal, and is now in
print for the first time. The illustrations have been made from
photographs and pencil sketches, and in all cases great care has been
exercised to represent correctly the costumes of the country. To
Frederick Whymper, Esq., artist of the Telegraph Expedition, and to
August Hoffman, (Photographer,) of Irkutsk, Eastern Siberia, the
author is specially indebted.
The orthography of geographical names is after the Russian model. The
author hopes it will not be difficult to convince his countrymen that
the shortest form of spelling is the best, especially when it
represents the pronunciation more accurately than does the old method.
A frontier justice once remarked, when a lawyer ridiculed his way of
writing ordinary words, that a man was not properly educated who could
spell a word in only one way. On the same broad principle I will not
quarrel with those who insist upon retaining an extra letter in Bering
and Ohotsk and two superfluous letters in Kamchatka.
Among those not mentioned in the volume, thanks are due to Frederick
Macrellish, Esq., of San Francisco, Hon. F.F. Low of Sacramento,
Alfred Whymper, Esq., of London, and the many gentlemen connected with
the Telegraph Expedition. There are dozens and hundreds of individuals
in Siberia and elsewhere, of all grades and conditions in life, who
have placed me under numberless obligations. Wherever I traveled the
most uniform courtesy was shown me, and though conscious that few of
those dozens and hundreds will ever read these lines, I should
consider myself ungrateful did I fail to acknowledge their kindness to
a wandering American.
T.W.K.
ASTOR HOUSE, N.Y., Sept. 15, 1870.
[Illustration: LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS By TAY & COX 105 Nassau St. N.Y.]
1. FRONTISPIECE, THE AUTHOR IN SIBERIAN COSTUME
2. CHARACTER DEVELOPED
3. ASPINWALL TO PANAMA
4. SLIGHTLY MONOTONOUS
5. MONTGOMERY STREET IN HOLIDAY DRESS
6. SAN FRANCISCO, 1848
7. CHINESE DINNER
8. OVER SIX FEET
9. STEAMSHIP WRIGHT IN A STORM
10. A SEA SICK BOOBY
11. WRECK OF THE SHIP CANTON
12. ALEUTIANS CATCHING WHALES
13. BREACH OF ETIQUETTE
14. UNEXPECTED HONORS
15. RUSSIAN MARRIAGE
16. RUSSIAN POPE AT HOME
17. A SCALY BRIDGE
18. RUSSIAN TEA SERVICE
19. CHANGE FOR A DOLLAR
20. COW AND BEAR
21. A KAMCHATKA TEAM
22. REPULSE OF THE ASSAILANTS
23. VIEW OF SITKA
24. PLENTY OF TIME
25. RUSSIAN OFFICERS AT MESS
26. ASCENDING THE BAY
27. TAKING THE CENSUS
28. LIGHT-HOUSE AT GHIJIGA
29. TOWED BY DOGS
30. KORIAK YOURT
31. DISCHARGING A DECK LOAD
32. REINDEER RIDE
33. TAIL PIECE, REINDEER
34. WAGON RIDE WITH DOGS
35. YEARLY MAIL
36. DOGS FISHING
37. TEACHINGS OF EXPERIENCE
38. BOAT LOAD OF SALMON
39. AN EFFECTIVE PROTEST
40. NOTHING BUT BONES
41. TAIL PIECE—NATIVE WOMAN
42. SEEING OFF
43. LIFE ON THE AMOOR
44. A GILYAK VILLAGE
45. ABOUT FULL
46. TAIL PIECE—A TURN OUT
47. ON THE AMOOR
48. CASH ACCOUNT
49. WOODING UP
50. BEAR IN PROCESSION
51. PRACTICE OF MEDICINE
52. MANJOUR MERCHANT
53. GILYAK MAN
54. GILYAK WOMAN
55. PEASANTS BY MOONLIGHT
56. TAIL PIECE—THE NET
57. TEN MILES AN HOUR
58. GOLDEE HOUSE AT NIGHT
59. THE HYPOCHONDRIAC
60. “NOT FOR JOE”
61. TAIL PIECE—SCENE ON THE RIVER
62. RECEPTION AT PETROVSKY
63. ARMED AND EQUIPPED
64. GENERAL ACTIVITY
65. TAIL PIECE—FLASK
66. MANJOUR BOAT
67. A PRIVATE TEMPLE
68. FISHING IMPLEMENTS
69. CHINESE FAMILY PICTURE
70. MANJOUR TRAVELING CARRIAGE
71. TAIL PIECE—TOWARDS THE SUN
72. THE AMMUNITION WAGON
73. FINISHING TOUCH
74. EMIGRANTS ON THE AMOOR
75. SA-GA-YAN CLIFF
76. RIFLE SHOOTING
77. TAIL PIECE—GAME
78. PREPARING FOR WINTER
79. TAIL PIECE
80. STRATENSK, EASTERN SIBERIA
81. A SIBERIAN TARANTASS
82. TAIL PIECE
83. FAVORITE BED
84. CONCENTRATED ENERGIES
85. PRISONERS AT CHETAH
86. ON THE HILLS NEAR CHETAH
87. BOURIAT YOURTS
88. A MONGOL BELL
89. A MONGOL BELLE
90. CATCHING SHEEP
91. A COLD BATH
92. TAIL PIECE
93. OUR FERRY BOAT
94. EQUAL RIGHTS
95. AMATEUR CONCERT IN SIBERIA
96. CHINESE MANDARIN
97. INTERIOR OF CHINESE TEMPLE
98. THROUGH ORDINARY EYES
99. THROUGH CHINESE EYES
100. LEGAL TENDER
101. RUSSIAN PETS
102. PONY EXPRESS
103. A DISAGREEABLE APPENDAGE
104. SUSPENDED FREEDOM
105. PUNISHMENT FOR BURGLARY
106. CHOPSTICK, FORK, AND SAUCER
107. CHINESE THEATRE
108. CHINESE TIGER
109. CHINESE PUNISHMENT
110. PROVISION DEALER
111. CHINESE MENDICANTS
112. THE FAVORITE
113. FEMALE FEET AND SHOE
114. A LOTTERY PRIZE
115. A CHINESE PALANQUIN
116. A PEKIN CAB
117. PRIEST IN TEMPLE OF CONFUCIUS
118. COMFORTS AND CONVENIENCES
119. FILIAL ATTENTION
120. TAIL PIECE—OPIUM PIPE
121. A MUSICAL STOP
122. NANKOW PASS
123. RACING AT THE KALGAN FAIR
124. STREET IN KALGAN
125. IN GOOD CONDITION
126. LOST IN THE DESERT OF GOBI
127. MONGOL DINNER TABLE
128. CROSSING THE TOLLA
129. THE SCHOOLMASTER
130. TAIL PIECE
131. WILD BOAR HUNT
132. A WIFE AT IRKUTSK
133. NO WIFE AT IRKUTSK
134. A SOUDNA
135. AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
136. LAKE BAIKAL IN WINTER
137. A SPECIMEN
138. TAIL PIECE—THE WORLD
139. GOV. GENERAL KORSACKOFF
140. VIEW—IRKUTSK
141. A COLD ATTACHMENT
142. QUEEN OF GREECE
143. EMPEROR OF RUSSIA
144. TAIL PIECE—TWIN BOTTLES
145. HOME OF TWO EXILES—REAL, IMAGINARY
146. TAIL PIECE—QUARTERS
147. TARTAR CAVALRY
148. SIBERIAN EXILES
149. TAIL PIECE
150. A VASHOK
151. A KIBITKA
152. FAREWELL TO IRKUTSK
153. OUR CONDUCTOR
154. JUMPING CRADLE HOLES
155. VALLEY OF THE YENESEI
156. WOLF HUNT
157. HYDRAULIC MINING
158. TAIL PIECE
159. DOWN HILL
160. DOGS AMONG ICE
161. JUMPING THE FISSURES
162. THE TEAM
163. TAIL PIECE
164. IN THE MINE
165. STRANGE COINCIDENCE
166. TAIL PIECE
167. THE ELOPEMENT
168. THE FIGHT
169. THE CATASTROPHE
170. TAIL PIECE
171. THE POLKEDOVATE
172. MAKING EXPLANATION
173. AFTER THE BATH
174. TAIL PIECE
175. THE DRIVER’S TOILET
176. WOMEN SPINNING
177. FLOGGING WITH STICKS
178. TAIL PIECE
179. LOST IN A SNOW STORM
180. FATAL RESULT
181. TAIL PIECE
182. EXCUSE MY FAMILIARITY
183. FROSTED HORSES
184. VIEW OF EKATERINEBURG
185. EUROPE AND ASIA
186. A RUSSIAN BEGGAR
187. BEGGARS IN KAZAN
188. THE IMMERSION
189. RUSSIAN PRIEST
199. TAIL PIECE
191. GREAT BELL OF MOSCOW
192. VIEW OF THE NEVSKI PROSPECT, ST. PETERSBURG
193. TAIL PIECE—MEETING AN OLD FRIEND
194. MAP TO ACCOMPANY THOS. W. KNOX’S “OVERLAND THROUGH ASIA”
[Illustration: Contents]
CHAPTER I.
Off from New York—Around the world by steam—Value of a letter of
credit—A cure for sea sickness—Doing the Isthmus—An exciting
porpoise race—Glimpse of San Francisco—Trip to the Yo Semite
Valley—From the Golden Gate into the Pacific
CHAPTER II.
A strange company—Difficulties of sea life—A tall man and a short
room—How the dog went to sleep—A soapy cabin—Catching a booby—Two
Sundays together—A long lost wreck—Incidents at sea—Manner of
catching whales in Alaska—A four footed pilot—Dog stories—How to
take an observation—Coast of Asia—Entering Avatcha bay—An
economical light keeper
CHAPTER III.
In a Russian port—Hail Columbia—Petropavlovsk—Volcanoes and
earth-quakes—Directions for making a Russian town—A Kamchadale
wedding—Standing up with the bride—A hot ceremony—A much married
pope—Russian religious practices—Drinking with the priest and what
came of it
CHAPTER IV.
Vegetation in Kamchatka—Catching salmon—A scaly bridge—An evening
on shore—Samovars and tea drinking—The fur trade—Bear hunting—What
a cow brought home one day—Siberian dogs—A musical town—The
adventures of Norcum—Training a team—Sledges and how to manage
them—A voyage under the Polish flag—Monument to Captain Clerke—The
allied attack—The battle of Petropavlovsk
CHAPTER V.
Bering’s voyages—Discovery of Alaska—Shipwreck and death of
Bering—The Russian-American Company—The first governor of
Alaska—Promushleniks—Russian settlement in California—Account of
Russian explorations—Character of the country—Its extent and
resources—Advantages and disadvantages of the Alaska purchase
CHAPTER VI.
Leaving Kamchatka—Farewell to the ladies—A new kind of
telegraph—Entering the Ohotsk sea—From Steam to sail—Sleeping among
chronometers—Talking by-signs—A burial at sea—A Russian
funeral—Land in sight—Ghijiga bay
CHAPTER VII.
Baggage for shore travel—Much wine and little bread—A perplexing
dilemma—How to take the census—Siberian beds—Towed by
dogs—Encounter with a beast—Coaxing a team with clubs—The
Koriaks—Their manners and customs—Comical cap for a native—A four
footed currency—Yourts and Balagans—Curious marriage
ceremony—Lightening a boat in a storm—Very strong whisky—Riding on
a reindeer—An intoxicating mushroom—An electric devil—a Siberian
snow storm—How a party was lost
CHAPTER VIII.
How a pointer became a bull dog—Coral in high latitudes—Sending
Champagne to Neptune—Arrival at Ohotsk—Three kinds of natives—A
lunch with the ladies—A native entertainment—A mail once a year—A
lover’s misfortune—An astonished American—Hunting a bear and being
hunted—An unfortunate ride
CHAPTER IX.
At sea again—Beauties of a Northern sky—Warlike news and preparing
for war—The coast of Japan—An exciting moment—A fog bell of sea
lions—Ready for fight—De Castries’ bay—A bewildered fleet—Goodbye
to the Variag—In the straits of Tartary—A difficult sleeping
place—A Siberian mirage—Entering the Amoor river
CHAPTER X.
On shore at Nicolayevsk—An American Consul—Visiting the
Governor—Machine shops on the Amoor with American managers—The
servant girl question—A Gilyak boat full of salmon—An unfortunate
water carrier—The Amoor Company—Foreign and native
merchants—Raising sheep among tigers—Rats eating window
glass—Riding in a cart
CHAPTER XI.
Up the Amoor—Seeing off a friend—A Siberian steamboat—How the
steamboats are managed—Packages by post—Curiosities of the Russian
mail service—An unhappy bride—Hay barges—Gilyak villages—Visiting
a village—Bad for the nose—Native dogs—Interviewing a Gilyak
lady—A rapid descent
CHAPTER XII.
The monastery of Eternal Repose—Curious religious customs—Features
of the scenery—Passengers on our boat—An adventurous
merchant—Captured by the Chinese—A pretty girl and her fellow
passenger—Wooding up—An Amoor town—The telegraph—How it is built
and operated—A native school—Fighting the tiger—Religious practices
of the Gilyaks—Mistaken kindness
CHAPTER XIII.
Stepanoff and his career—A Manjour boat—Catching salmon—A sturgeon
pen—The islands of the Amoor—A night scene at a wooding station—A
natural cathedral—The birds of the Amoor—The natives of the
country—Interviewing a native Mandarin
CHAPTER XIV.
Entering a Goldee house—Native politeness—What to do with a tame
eagle—An intelligent dog team—An exciting race—A Mongol
belle—Visiting a Goldee house at night—A reception in a shirt—Fish
skin over-coats—Curious medical custom—Draw poker on the Amoor
river—Curiosity—Habarofka—“No turkey for me”—A visit on
shore—Experience with fleas
CHAPTER XV.
First view of China—A beautiful region—Petrovsky—Women in the
water—An impolite reception—A scanty population—Visiting a military
post—Division of labor for a hunting excursion—The Songaree—A
Chinese military station—Resources of the Songaree—Experience of a
traveler—Hunting a tiger—A perilous adventure
CHAPTER XVI.
Ekaterin—Nikolskoi—The Province of the Amoor—Character of the
Cossack—The Buryea Mountains—A man overboard—Passing a mountain
chain—Manjour boats—Bringing pigs to market—Women in the open
air—A new tribe of natives—Rest for a bath—Russian caviar—How it
is made—Feeding with a native—A heavy drink—A fleet of fishing
boats
CHAPTER XVII.
Scenery on the middle Amoor—A military colony—Among the Manjours—A
Manjour temple—A Chinese naval station—A crew of women—Strange ways
of catching fish—The city of Igoon—Houses plastered with
mud—Visiting a harem—Talking pigeon-Chinese—Visiting the prison
CHAPTER XVIII.
The mouth of the Zeya—Blagoveshchensk—Kind reception by the
governor—Attending a funeral—A polyglot doctor and his
family—Intercourse with the Chinese—A visit to Sakhalin-Oula—A
government office—A Chinese traveling carriage—Visiting a Manjour
governor—A polite official—A Russian Mongol reception—Curiosities
of the Chinese police system—Advice to the Emperor of China
CHAPTER XIX.
A deer-hunting picnic—Russian ploughing—Nursing a deer gazelle—A
shot and what came of it—The return and overturn—The Siberian
gazelle—A Russian steam bath—How to take it—On a new steamer—The
cabin of the Korsackoff—A horse opera—An intoxicated priest—Private
stock of provisions—The dove a sacred bird—Emigrant rafts—A
Celestial guard house
CHAPTER XX.
The upper Amoor—Sagayan cliff—- Hunting for gold—Rich gold mines in
the Amoor valley—The Tungusians—A goose for a cigar—An awkward
rifle—Albazin—The people in Sunday dress—The siege of
Albazin—Visiting the old fort
CHAPTER XXI.
A sudden change—Beef preserved with laurel leaves—A Russian
settler—New York pictures in a Russian house—The Flowery
Kingdom—Early explorations—The conquest of the Amoor—A rapid
expedition—The Shilka and the Argoon—An old settled country—A lady
in the case—Hotels for the exiles—Stratensk—A large crowd—- End of
a long steamboat ride
CHAPTER XXII.
A hotel at Stratensk—A romantic courtship—Starting overland—A
difficult ferry—A Russian posting carriage—Good substitute for a
trunk—“Road Agent” in Siberia—Rights of travelers—Kissing goes by
favor—Captain John Franklin’s equipage—Value of a ball—Stuck in the
mud—The valley of the Nertcha—Reaching Nerchinsk
CHAPTER XXIII.
An extensive house—A Russian gold miner—Stories of the
exiles—Polish exiles—“The unfortunates”—The treatment of
prisoners—Attempts to escape—Buying a tarantass—Light marching
order—A bad road—Sleeping on a stove—The valley of the Ingodah—Two
hours in a mud hole—Recklessness of drivers—Arrival at Chetah
CHAPTER XXIV.
Location of Chetah—Prisoners in chains—Ingenuity of the
exiles—Learning Hail Columbia in two hours—A governor’s mansion—A
hunting party—Siberian rabbits—Difficulties of matrimony—Religion
in Siberia—An artillery review—Champagne and farewells—Crossing a
frozen stream—Inconvenience of traveling with a dog—Crossing the
Yablonoi Mountains—Approaching the Arctic Ocean
CHAPTER XXV.
A cold night—Traveling among the Mongols—The Bouriats and their
dwellings—An unpleasant fire—The Bhuddist religion—Conversions
among the natives—An easy way of catching sheep—A Mongol bell—A
Mongol belle—A late hour and a big dog—Bullocks under saddle—An
enterprising girl—Sleeping in a carriage—Arrival at Verkne
Udinsk—Walking in the market place—Stories of Siberian robbers—An
enterprising murderer—Gold and iron mines on the Selenga
CHAPTER XXVI.
Crossing a river on the ice—A dangerous situation—Dining on soup and
caviar—Caravans of tea—The rights of the road—How the drivers treat
each other—Selenginsk—An old exile—Troubled by the nose—Lodged by
the police—A housekeeper in undress—An amateur
concert—Troitskosavsk and Kiachta—Crossing the frontier—Visiting
the Chinese governor
CHAPTER XXVII.
In the Chinese empire—A city without a woman—A Chinese court of
justice—Five interpretations—Chinese and Russian methods of tea
making—A Chinese temple—Sculpture in sand stone—The gods and the
Celestials—The Chinese idea of beauty—The houses in
Maimaichin—Chinese dogs—Bartering with the merchants—The Chinese
ideas of honesty—How they entertained us—The Abacus
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Russian feast days—A curious dinner custom—Novel separation of the
sexes—The wealth of Kiachta—The extent of the tea trade—Dodging the
custom house—Foreign residents of Kiachta—Fifteen dogs in one
family—The devil and the telegraph—Russian gambling—Dinner with the
Chinese governor—Chinese punishments—Ingredients of a Chinese
dinner—Going to the theatre in midday—Two dinners in one
day—Farewell to Kiachta
CHAPTER XXIX.
Trade between America and China—The first ship for a Chinese
port—Chinese river system—The first steamboat on a Chinese
river—The Celestials astonished—A nation of shop-keepers—Chinese
insurance and banking systems—The first letters of credit—Railways
in the empire—The telegraph in China—Pigeon-English—The Chinese
treaty
CHAPTER XXX.
The great cities of China—Pekin and its interesting features—The
Chinese city and the Tartar one—Rat peddlers, jugglers, beggars, and
other liberal professionals—The rat question in China—Tricks of the
jugglers—Mendicants and dwarfs—“The house of the hen’s
feathers”—How small feet became fashionable—Fashion in America and
China—Gambling in Pekin—An interesting lottery prize—Executions by
lot—Punishing robbers—Opposition to dancing—The temple of
Confucius—Temples of Heaven and Earth—The famous Summer
Palace—Chinese cemeteries—Coffins as household ornaments—Calmness
at death
CHAPTER XXXI.
A journey through Mongolia—Chinese dislike to foreign travel—Leaving
Pekin—How to stop a mule’s music—The Nankow Pass—A fort captured
because of a woman—The great wall of China—Loading the pack
mules—Kalgan—Mosques and Pagodas—A Mongol horse fair—How a
transaction is managed—A camel journey on the desert—How to arrange
his load—A Mongolian cart—A brisk trade in wood for coffins
CHAPTER XXXII.
Entering the desert of Gobi—Instincts of the natives—An antelope
hunt—Lost on the desert—Discovered and rescued—Character of the
Mongols—Boiled mutton, and how to eat it—Fording the Tolla river—An
exciting passage—Arrival at Urga—A Mongol Lamissary—The victory of
Genghis Khan—Chinese couriers—Sheep raising in Mongolia—Holy men in
abundance—Inconvenience of being a lama—A praying machine—Arrival
at Kiachta
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Departure from Kiachta—An agreeable companion—Making ourselves
comfortable—A sacred village—Hunting a wild boar—A Russian
monastery—Approaching Lake Baikal—Hunting for letters—“Doing”
Posolsky—A pile of merchandise—A crowded house—Rifle and pistol
practice—A Russian soudna—A historic building—A lake steamer in
Siberia—Exiles on shore—A curious lake—Wonderful journey over the
ice—The Holy Sea—A curious group—The first custom house—Along the
banks of the Angara—A strange fish—Arrival at Irkutsk
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Turned over to the police—Visiting the Governor General—An agreeable
officer in a fine house—Paying official visits—German in
pantomime—The passport system—Cold weather—Streets, stores, and
houses at Irkutsk—Description of the city—The Angara river—A novel
regulation—A swinging ferry boat—Cossack policeman—An alarm of
fire—“Running with the machine” in Russia—Markets at
Irkutsk—Effects of kissing with a low thermometer
CHAPTER XXXV.
Society in Irkutsk—Social customs—Lingual powers of the
Russians—Effect of speaking two languages to an infant—Intercourse
of the Siberians with Polish exiles—A hospitable people—A
ceremonious dinner—Russian precision—A long speech and a short
translation—The Amoorski Gastinitza—Playing billiards at a
disadvantage—Muscovite superstition—Open house and pleasant
tea-parties—A wealthy gold miner
CHAPTER XXXVI.
The exiles of 1825—The Emperor Paul and his eccentricities—Alexander
I.—The revolution of 1825—Its result—Severity of Nicholas—Hard
labor for life—Conditions of banishment—A pardon after thirty
years—Where the Decembrists live—The Polish question—Both sides of
it—Banishments since 1863—The government policy—Difference between
political and criminal exiles—Colonists—Drafted into the
army—Pension from friends—Attempts to escape—Restrictions find
social comforts—How the prisoners travel—The object of
deportation—Rules for exiling serfs
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Serfdom and exile—Peter I. and Alexander II.—Example of Siberia to
old Russia—Prisoners in the mines—A revolt—The trial of the
insurgents—Sentence and execution—A remarkable escape—Piotrowski’s
narrative—Free after four years
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Preparing to leave Irkutsk—Change from wheels to runners—Buying a
suit of fur—Negotiations for a sleigh—A great many
drinks—Peculiarities of Russian merchants—Similarities of Russians
and Chinese—Several kinds of sleighs—A Siberian saint—A farewell
dinner—Packing a sleigh—A companion with heavy baggage—Farewell
courtesies—Several parting drinks—Traveling through a frost
cloud—Effect of fog in a cold night—A monotonous snow scape—Meals
at the stations—A jolly party—An honest population—Diplomacy with
the drivers
CHAPTER XXXIX.
A Siberian beverage—The wine of the country—An unhappy pig—Tea
caravans for Moscow—Intelligence of a horse—Champagne
frappé—Meeting the post—How the mail is carried—A lively shaking
up—Board of survey on a dead horse—Sleeping rooms in peasant
houses—Kansk—A road with no snow—Putting our sleighs on wheels—A
deceived Englishman—Crossing the Yenesei—Krasnoyarsk—Washing
clothes in winter—A Siberian banking house—The telegraph system—No
dead-heads—Fish from the Yenesei—A Siberian Neptune—Going on a wolf
hunt—How a hunt is managed—An exciting chase and a narrow escape
CHAPTER XL.
Beggars at Krasnoyarsk—A wealthy city—Gold mining on the
Yenesei—Its extent and the value of the mines—How the mining is
conducted—Explorations, surveys, and the preparation of the
ground—Wages and treatment of laborers—Machines for gold
washing—Regulations to prevent thefts—Mining in frozen
earth—Antiquity of the mines—The native population—An Eastern
legend—The adventures of “Swan’s Wing”—Visit to lower regions—Moral
of the story
CHAPTER XLI.
A philosophic companion—Traveling with the remains of a
mammoth—Talking against time—Sleighs on wheels—The advantages of
“cheek”—A moonlight transfer—Keeping the feast days—Getting drunk
as a religious duty—A slight smash up—A cold night—An abominable
road—Hunting a mammoth—Journey to the Arctic Circle—Natives on the
coast—A mammoth’s hide and hair—Ivory hunting in the frozen North—A
perilous adventure—Cast away in the Arctic ocean—Fight with a polar
bear—A dangerous situation—Frozen to the ice—Reaching the shore
CHAPTER XLII.
A runaway horse—Discussion with a driver—A modest breakfast—A
convoy of exiles—Hotels for the exiles—Charity to the
unfortunate—Their rate of travel—An encounter at night—No whips in
the land of horses—Russian drivers and their horses—Niagara in
Siberia—Eggs by the dizaine—Caught in a storm—A beautiful
night—Arrival at Tomsk—An obliging landlord—A crammed
sleigh—Visiting the governor—Description of Tomsk—A steamboat line
to Tumen—Schools in Siberia
CHAPTER XLIII.
A frozen river—On the road to Barnaool—An unpleasant night—Posts at
the road side—Very high wind—A Russian bouran—A poor hotel—Greeted
with American music—The gold mines of the Altai mountains—Survey of
the mining-district—General management of the business—The museum at
Barnaool—The imperial zavod—Reducing the ores—Government tax on
mines—A strange coincidence
CHAPTER XLIV.
Society at Barnaool—A native coachman—An Asiatic eagle—The
Kirghese—The original Tartars—Russian diplomacy among the
natives—Advance of civilization—Railway building in Central
Asia—Product of the Kirghese country—Fairs in Siberia—Caravans from
Bokhara—An adventure among the natives—Capture of a native prince—A
love story and an elopement—A pursuit, fight, and tragic end of the
journey
CHAPTER XLV.
Interview with a Persian officer—A slow conversation—Seven years of
captivity—A scientific explorer—Relics of past ages—An Asiatic
dinner—Cossack dances—Tossed up as a mark of honor—Trotting horses
in Siberia—Washing a paper collar—On the Baraba steppe—A
long-ride—A walking ice statue—Traveling by private
teams—Excitement of a race—How to secure honesty in a public
solicitor—Prescription for rheumatism
CHAPTER XLVI.
A monotonous country—Advantages of winter travel—Fertility of the
steppe—Rules for the haying season—Breakfasting on nothing—A
Siberian apple—Delays in changing horses—Universal tea
drinking—Tartars on the steppe—Siberian villages—Mode of spinning
in Russia—An unsuccessful conspiracy—How a revolt was organized—A
conspirator flogged to death—The city of Tobolsk—The story of
Elizabeth—The conquest of Siberia—Yermak and his career
CHAPTER XLVII.
Another snow storm—Wolves in sight—Unwelcome visitors—Going on a
wolf chase—An unlucky pig—Hunting at night—A hungry pack—Wolves in
every direction—The pursuers and the pursued—A dangerous turn in the
road—A driver lost and devoured—A narrow escape—Forest guards
against bears and wolves—A courageous horse—The story of David
Crockett
CHAPTER XLVIII.
Thermometer very low—Inconvenience of a long beard—Fur clothing in
abundance—Natural thermometers—Rubbing a freezing nose—A beautiful
night on the steppe—Siberian twilights—Thick coat for horses—The
city of Tumen—Magnificent distances—Manufacture of carpets—A
lucrative monopoly—Arrival at Ekaterineburg—Christmas festivities
—Manufactures at Ekaterineburg—- The Granilnoi Fabric—Russian iron
and where it comes from—The Demidoff family—A large piece of
malachite—An emperor as an honest miner
CHAPTER XLIX.
Among the stone workers—A bewildering collection—Visit to a private
“Fabric”—The mode of stone cutting—Crossing the mountains—Boundary
between Europe and Asia—Standing in two continents at once—Entering
Europe by the back door—In the valley of the Kama—Touching appeal by
a beggar—The great fair at Irbit—An improved road—A city of
thieves—Tanning in Russia—Evidence of European
civilization—Perm—Pleasures of sleigh riding—The road fever—The
Emperor Nicholas and a courier—A Russian sleighing song
CHAPTER L.
Among the Votiaks—Malmouish—Advice to a traveler—Dress and habits
of the Tartars—Tartar villages and mosques—A long night—Overturned
and stopped—Arrival at Kazan—New Year’s festivities—Russian
soldiers on parade—Military spirit of the Romanoff family—Anecdote
of the Grand Duke Michel—The conquest of Kazan—An evening in a
ball-room—Enterprise of Tartar peddlers—Manufactures and schools—A
police secret—The police in Russia
CHAPTER LI.
Leaving Kazan—A Russian companion—Conversation with a phrase book—A
sloshy street—Steamboats frozen in the ice—Navigation of the
Volga—The Cheramess—Pity the unfortunate—A road on the
ice—Merchandise going Westward—Villages along the Volga—A baptism
through the ice—Religion in Russia—Toleration and tyranny—The
Catholics in Poland—The Old Believers—The Skoptsi, or
mutilators—Devotional character of the Russian peasantry—Diminishing
the priestly power—Church and state—End of a long sleigh ride—Nijne
Novgorod—At the wrong hotel—Historical monuments—Entertained by the
police
CHAPTER LII.
Starting for Moscow—Jackdaws and pigeons—At a Russian railway
station—The group in waiting—The luxurious ride—A French governess
and a box of _bon-bons_—Cigarettes and tea—Halting at
Vladimir—Moscow through the frost—Trakteers—The Kremlin of
Moscow—Objects of interest—The great bell—The memorial
cannon—Treasures of the Kremlin—Wonderful churches of Moscow—The
Kitai Gorod—The public market—Imperial Theatre and Foundling
Hospital—By rail to St. Petersburg—Encountering an old friend
CHAPTER I.
It is said that an old sailor looking at the first ocean steamer,
exclaimed, “There’s an end to seamanship.” More correctly he might
have predicted the end of the romance of ocean travel. Steam abridges
time and space to such a degree that the world grows rapidly prosaic.
Countries once distant and little known are at this day near and
familiar. Railways on land and steamships on the ocean, will transport
us, at frequent and regular intervals, around the entire globe. From
New York to San Francisco and thence to our antipodes in Japan and
China, one may travel in defiance of propitious breezes formerly so
essential to an ocean voyage. The same untiring power that bears us
thither will bring us home again by way of Suez and Gibraltar to any
desired port on the Atlantic coast. Scarcely more than a hundred days
will be required for such a voyage, a dozen changes of conveyance and
a land travel of less than a single week.
The tour of the world thus performed might be found monotonous. Its
most salient features beyond the overland journey from the Atlantic to
the Pacific, would be the study of the ocean in breeze or gale or
storm, a knowledge of steamship life, and a revelation of the
peculiarities of men and women when cribbed, cabined, and confined in
a floating prison. Next to matrimony there is nothing better than a
few months at sea for developing the realities of human character in
either sex. I have sometimes fancied that the Greek temple over whose
door “Know thyself” was written, was really the passage office of some
Black Ball clipper line of ancient days. Man is generally desirous of
the company of his fellow man or woman, but on a long sea voyage he is
in danger of having too much of it. He has the alternative of shutting
himself in his room and appearing only at meal times, but as solitude
has few charms, and cabins are badly ventilated, seclusion is
accompanied by _ennui_ and headache in about equal proportions.
[Illustration: CHARACTER DEVELOPED.]
Wishing to make a journey round the world, I did not look favorably
upon the ocean route. The proportions of water and land were much like
the relative quantities of sack and bread in Falstaff’s hotel bill.
Whether on the Atlantic or the Pacific, the Indian, or the Arctic, the
appearance of Ocean’s blue expanse is very much the same. It is water
and sky in one place, and sky and water in another. You may vary the
monotony by seeing ships or shipping seas, but such occurrences are
not peculiar to any one ocean. Desiring a reasonable amount of land
travel, I selected the route that included Asiatic and European
Russia. My passport properly endorsed at the Russian embassy,
authorized me to enter the empire by the way of the Amoor river.
A few days before the time fixed for my departure, I visited a Wall
street banking house, and asked if I could obtain a letter of credit
to be used in foreign travel.
“Certainly sir,” was the response.
“Will it be available in Asia?”
“Yes, sir. You can use it in China, India, or Australia, at your
pleasure.” “Can I use it in Irkutsk?”
“Where, sir?”
“In Irkutsk.”
“Really, I can’t say; what _is_ Irkutsk?”
“It is the capital of Eastern Siberia.”
The person with whom I conversed, changed from gay to grave, and from
lively to severe. With calm dignity he remarked, “I am unable to say,
if our letters can be used at the place you mention. They are good all
over the civilized world, but I don’t know anything about Irkutsk.
Never heard of the place before.”
I bowed myself out of the establishment, with a fresh conviction of
the unknown character of the country whither I was bound. I obtained a
letter of credit at the opposition shop, but without a guarantee of
its availability in Northern Asia.
In a foggy atmosphere on the morning of March 21, 1866, I rode through
muddy streets to the dock of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. There
was a large party to see us off, the passengers having about three
times their number of friends. There were tears, kisses, embraces,
choking sighs, which ne’er might be repeated; blessings and
benedictions among the serious many, and gleeful words of farewell
among the hilarious few. One party of half a dozen became merry over
too much champagne, and when the steward’s bell sounded its warning,
there was confusion on the subject of identity. One stout gentleman
who protested that he _would_ go to sea, was led ashore much against
his will.
After leaving the dock, I found my cabin room-mate a gaunt,
sallow-visaged person, who seemed perfectly at home on a steamer. On
my mentioning the subject of sea-sickness, he eyed me curiously and
then ventured an opinion.
“I see,” said he, “you are of bilious temperament and will be very
ill. As for myself, I have been a dozen times over the route and am
rarely affected by the ship’s motion.”
Then he gave me some kind advice touching my conduct when I should
feel the symptoms of approaching _mal du mer_. I thanked him and
sought the deck. An hour after we passed Sandy Hook, my new
acquaintance succumbed to the evils that afflict landsmen who go down
to the sea in ships. Without any qualm of stomach or conscience, I
returned the advice he had proffered me. I did not suffer a moment
from the marine malady during that voyage, or any subsequent one.[A]
[Footnote A: A few years ago a friend gave me a prescription which he
said would prevent sea-sickness. I present it here as he wrote it.
“The night before going to sea, I take a blue pill (5 to 10 grains) in
order to carry the bile from the liver into the stomach. When I rise
on the following morning, a dose of citrate of magnesia or some
kindred substance finishes my preparation. I take my breakfast and all
other meals afterward as if nothing had happened.”
I have used this prescription in my own case with success, and have
known it to benefit others.]
The voyage from New York to San Francisco has been so often ‘done’ and
is so well watered, that I shall not describe it in detail. Most of
the passengers on the steamer were old Californians and assisted in
endeavoring to make the time pass pleasantly. There was plenty of
whist-playing, story telling, reading, singing, flirtation, and a very
large amount of sleeping. So far as I knew, nobody quarreled or
manifested any disposition to be riotous. There was one passenger, a
heavy, burly Englishman, whose sole occupation was in drinking “arf
and arf.” He took it on rising, then another drink before breakfast,
then another between Iris steak and his buttered roll, and so on every
half hour until midnight, when he swallowed a double dose and went to
bed. He had a large quantity in care of the baggage master, and every
day or two he would get up a few dozen pint bottles of pale ale and an
equal quantity of porter. He emptied a bottle of each into a pitcher
and swallowed the whole as easily as an ordinary man would take down a
dose of peppermint. The empty bottles were thrown overboard, and the
captain said that if this man were a frequent passenger there would be
danger of a reef of bottles in the ocean all the way from New York to
Aspinwall. I never saw his equal for swallowing malt liquors. To quote
from Shakspeare, with a slight alteration:
“He was a man, take him for half and half,
I ne’er shall look upon his like again.”
[Illustration: ASPINWALL TO PANAMA.]
We had six hours at Aspinwall, a city that could be done in fifteen
minutes, but were allowed no time on shore at Panama. It was late at
night when we left the latter port. The waters were beautifully
phosphorescent, and when disturbed by our motion they flashed and
glittered like a river of stars. Looking over the stern one could half
imagine our track a path of fire, and the bay, ruffled by a gentle
breeze, a waving sheet of light. The Pacific did not belie its name.
More than half the way to San Francisco we steamed as calmly and with
as little motion as upon a narrow lake. Sometimes there was no
sensation to indicate we were moving at all.
[Illustration: SLIGHTLY MONOTONOUS.]
Even varied by glimpses of the Mexican coast, the occasional
appearance of a whale with its column of water thrown high into the
air, and the sportive action of schools of porpoises which is
constantly met with, the passage was slightly monotonous. On the
twenty-third day from New York we ended the voyage at San Francisco.
On arriving in California I was surprised at the number of old
acquaintances I encountered. When leaving New York I could think of
only two or three persons I knew in San Francisco, but I met at least
a dozen before being on shore twelve hours. Through these individuals,
I became known to many others, by a rapidity of introduction almost
bewildering. Californians are among the most genial and hospitable
people in America, and there is no part of our republic where a
stranger receives a kinder and more cordial greeting. There is no
Eastern iciness of manner, or dignified indifference at San Francisco.
Residents of the Pacific coast have told me that when visiting their
old homes they feel as if dropped into a refrigerator. After learning
the customs of the Occident, one can fully appreciate the sensations
of a returned Californian.
[Illustration: MONTGOMERY STREET IN HOLIDAY DRESS.]
Montgomery street, the great avenue of San Francisco, is not surpassed
any where on the continent in the variety of physiognomy it presents.
There are men from all parts of America, and there is no lack of
European representatives. China has many delegates, and Japan also
claims a place. There are merchants of all grades and conditions, and
professional and unprofessional men of every variety, with a long
array of miscellaneous characters. Commerce, mining, agriculture, and
manufactures, are all represented. At the wharves there are ships of
all nations. A traveler would find little difficulty, if he so willed
it, in sailing away to Greenland’s icy mountains or India’s coral
strand. The cosmopolitan character of San Francisco is the first thing
that impresses a visitor. Almost from one stand-point he may see the
church, the synagogue, and the pagoda. The mosque is by no means
impossible in the future.
[Illustration: SAN FRANCISCO, 1848.]
In 1848, San Francisco was a village of little importance. The city
commenced in ’49, and fifteen years later it claimed a population of a
hundred and twenty thousand.[B] No one who looks at this city, would
suppose it still in its minority. The architecture is substantial and
elegant; the hotels vie with those of New York in expense and luxury;
the streets present both good and bad pavements and are well
gridironed with railways; houses, stores, shops, wharves, all indicate
a permanent and prosperous community. There are gas-works and
foundries and factories, as in older communities. There are the
Mission Mills, making the warmest blankets in the world, from the wool
of the California sheep. There are the fruit and market gardens whose
products have a Brobdignagian character. There are the immense stores
of wine from California vineyards that are already competing with
those of France and Germany. There are—I may as well stop now, since
I cannot tell half the story in the limits of this chapter.
[Footnote B: I made many notes with a view to publishing two or three
chapters upon California. I have relinquished this design, partly on
account of the un-Siberian character of the Golden State, and partly
because much that I had written is covered by the excellent book
“Beyond the Mississippi,” by Albert D. Richardson, my friend and
associate for several years. The particulars of his death by
assassination are familiar to many readers.]
[Illustration: CHINESE DINNER.]
During my stay in California, I visited the principal gold, copper,
and quicksilver mines in the state, not omitting the famous or
infamous Mariposa tract. In company with Mr. Burlingame and General
Van Valkenburg, our ministers to China and Japan, I made an excursion
to the Yosemite Valley, and the Big Tree Grove. With the same
gentlemen I went over the then completed portion of the railway which
now unites the Atlantic with the Pacific coast, and attended the
banquet given by the Chinese merchants of San Francisco to the
ambassadors on the eve of their departure. A Chinese dinner, served
with Chinese customs;—it was a prelude to the Asiatic life toward
which my journey led me.
I arrived in San Francisco on the thirteenth of April and expected to
sail for Asia within a month. One thing after another delayed us,
until we began to fear that we should never get away. For more than
six weeks the time of departure was kept a few days ahead and
regularly postponed. First, happened the failure of a contractor;
next, the non-arrival of a ship; next, the purchase of supplies; and
so on through a long list of hindrances. In the beginning I was vexed,
but soon learned complacency and gave myself no uneasiness. Patience
is an admirable quality in mankind, and can be very well practiced
when, one is waiting for a ship to go to sea.
On the twenty-third of June we were notified to be on board at five
o’clock in the evening, and to send heavy baggage before that hour.
The vessel which was to receive us, lay two or three hundred yards
from the wharf, in order to prevent the possible desertion of the
crew. Punctual to the hour, I left the hotel and drove to the place of
embarkation. My trunk, valise, and sundry boxes had gone in the
forenoon, so that my only remaining effects were a satchel, a bundle
of newspapers, a dog, and a bouquet. The weight of these combined
articles was of little consequence, but I positively declare that I
never handled a more inconvenient lot of baggage. While I was
descending a perpendicular ladder to a small boat, some one abruptly
asked if that lot of baggage had been cleared at the custom house.
Think of walking through a custom house with my portable property!
Happily the question did not come from an official.
It required at least an hour to get everything in readiness after we
were on board. Then followed the leave taking of friends who had come
to see us off and utter their wishes for a prosperous voyage and safe
return. The anchor rose slowly from the muddy bottom; steam was put
upon the engines, and the propeller whirling in the water, set us in
motion. The gang-way steps were raised and the rail severed our
connection with America.
It was night as we glided past the hills of San Francisco, spangled
with a thousand lights, and left them growing fainter in the distance.
Steaming through the Golden Gate we were soon on the open Pacific
commencing a voyage of nearly four thousand miles. We felt the motion
of the waves and became fully aware that we were at sea. The shore
grew indistinct and then disappeared; the last visible objects being
the lights at the entrance of the bay. Gradually their rays grew dim,
and when daylight came, there were only sky and water around us.
“Far upon the unknown deep,
With the billows circling round
Where the tireless sea-birds sweep;
Outward bound.
“Nothing but a speck we seem,
In the waste of waters round,
Floating, floating like a dream;
Outward bound.”