thick, the lights small, and the glass all double. Our food was chiefly
the flesh of deer, dried and cured in the season; good bread enough, but
baked as biscuits; dried fish of several sorts, and some flesh of
mutton, and of buffaloes, which is pretty good beef. All the stores of
provision for the winter are laid up in the summer, and well cured. Our
drink was water mixed with aqua vitæ instead of brandy; and, for a
treat, mead instead of wine; which, however, they have excellent good.
The hunters, who ventured abroad all weathers, frequently brought us in
fresh venison, very fat and good; and sometimes bear’s flesh, but we did
not much care for the last. We had a good stock of tea, with which we
treated our friends as above; and, in a word, we lived very cheerfully
and well, all things considered.
It was now March, and the days grown considerably longer, and the
weather at least tolerable; so other travellers began to prepare sledges
to carry them over the snow, and to get things ready to be going; but my
measures being fixed, as I have said, for Archangel, and not for Muscovy
or the Baltic, I made no motion, knowing very well, that the ships from
the south do not set out for that part of the world till May or June;
and that if I was there at the beginning of August, it would be as soon
as any ships would be ready to go away; and therefore, I say, I made no
haste to be gone, as others did; in a word, I saw a great many people,
nay, all the travellers, go away before me. It seems, every year they go
from thence to Moscow for trade; viz. to carry furs, and buy necessaries
with them, which they bring back to furnish their shops; also others
went on the same errand to Archangel; but then they also, being to come
back again above eight hundred miles, went all out before me.
In short, about the latter end of May I began to make all ready to pack
up; and as I was doing this, it occurred to me, that seeing all these
people were banished by the czar of Muscovy to Siberia, and yet, when
they came there, were at liberty to go whither they would; why did they
not then go away to any part of the world wherever they thought fit? and
I began to examine what should hinder them from making such an attempt.
But my wonder was over, when I entreated upon that subject with the
person I have mentioned, who answered me thus: “Consider, first,” said
he, “the place where we are; and, secondly, the condition we are in;
especially,” said he, “the generality of the people who are banished
hither. We are surrounded,” said he, “with stronger things than bars and
bolts: on the north side is an unnavigable ocean, where ship never
sailed, and boat never swam; neither, if we had both, could we know
whither to go with them. Every other way,” said he, “we have above a
thousand miles to pass through the czar’s own dominions, and by ways
utterly impassable, except by the roads made by the government, and
through the towns garrisoned by its troops; so that we could neither
pass undiscovered by the road, or subsist any other way: so that it is
in vain to attempt it.”
I was silenced indeed, at once, and found that they were in a prison,
every jot as secure as if they had been locked up in the castle of
Moscow; however, it came into my thoughts, that I might certainly be
made an instrument to procure the escape of this excellent person, and
that it was very easy for me to carry him away, there being no guard
over him in the country; and as I was not going to Moscow, but to
Archangel, and that I went in the nature of a caravan, by which I was
not obliged to lie in the stationary towns in the desert, but could
encamp every night where I would, might easily pass uninterrupted to
Archangel, where I could immediately secure him on board an English or
Dutch ship, and carry him off safe along with me; and as to his
subsistence, and other particulars, that should be my care, till he
should better supply himself.
He heard me very attentively, and looked earnestly on me all the while I
spoke; nay, I could see in his very face, that what I said put his
spirits into an exceeding ferment; his colour frequently changed, his
eyes looked red, and his heart fluttered, that it might be even
perceived in his countenance; nor could he immediately answer me when I
had done, and, as it were, expected what he would say to it; and after
he had paused a little, he embraced me, and said, “How unhappy are we!
unguided creatures as we are, that even our greatest acts of friendship
are made snares to us, and we are made tempters of one another! My dear
friend,” said he, “your offer is so sincere, has such kindness in it, is
so disinterested in itself, and is so calculated for my advantage, that
I must have very little knowledge of the world, if I did not both wonder
at it, and acknowledge the obligation I have upon me to you for it: but
did you believe I was sincere in what I have so often said to you of my
contempt of the world? Did you believe I spoke my very soul to you, and
that I had really maintained that degree of felicity here, that had
placed me above all that the world could give me, or do for me? Did you
believe I was sincere, when I told you I would not go back, if I was
recalled even to be all that once I was in the court, and with the
favour of the czar my master? Did you believe me, my friend, to be an
honest man, or did you think me to be a boasting hypocrite?” Here he
stopped, as if he would hear what I would say; but, indeed, I soon after
perceived, that he stopped because his spirits were in motion: his heart
was full of struggles, and he could not go on. I was, I confess,
astonished at the thing, as well as at the man, and I used some
arguments with him to urge him to set himself free; that he ought to
look upon this as a door opened by Heaven for his deliverance, and a
summons by Providence, who has the care and good disposition of all
events, to do himself good, and to render himself useful in the world.
He had by this time recovered himself. “How do you know, Sir,” said he,
warmly, “but that, instead of a summons from Heaven, it may be a feint
of another instrument, representing, in all the alluring colours to me,
the show of felicity as a deliverance, which may in itself be my snare,
and tend directly to my ruin? Here I am free from the temptation of
returning to my former miserable greatness; there I am not sure, but
that all the seeds of pride, ambition, avarice, and luxury, which I know
remain in my nature, may revive and take root, and, in a word, again
overwhelm me; and then the happy prisoner, whom you see now master of
his soul’s liberty, shall be the miserable slave of his own senses, in
the full possession of all personal liberty. Dear Sir, let me remain in
this blessed confinement, banished from the crimes of life, rather than
purchase a show of freedom at the expense of the liberty of my reason,
and at the expense of the future happiness which now I have in my view,
but shall then, I fear, quickly lose sight of; for I am but flesh, a
man, a mere man, have passions and affections as likely to possess and
overthrow me as any man: O be not my friend and my tempter both
together!”
If I was surprised before, I was quite dumb now, and stood silent,
looking at him; and, indeed, admired what I saw. The struggle in his
soul was so great, that, though the weather was extremely cold, it put
him into a most violent sweat, and I found he wanted to give vent to his
mind; so I said a word or two, that I would leave him to consider of it,
and wait on him again; and then I withdrew to my own apartment.
About two hours after, I heard somebody at or near the door of the room,
and I was going to open the door; but he had opened it, and come in: “My
dear friend,” said he, “you had almost overset me, but I am recovered:
do not take it ill that I do not close with your offer; I assure you, it
is not for want of a sense of the kindness of it in you; and I come to
make the most sincere acknowledgment of it to you; but, I hope, I have
got the victory over myself.”
“My lord,” said I, “I hope you are fully satisfied, that you did not
resist the call of Heaven.”—“Sir,” said he, “if it had been from
Heaven, the same power would have influenced me to accept it; but I
hope, and am fully satisfied, that it is from Heaven that I decline it;
and I have an infinite satisfaction in the parting, that you shall leave
me an honest man still, though not a free man.”
I had nothing to do but to acquiesce, and make profession to him of my
having no end in it, but a sincere desire to serve him. He embraced me
very passionately, and assured me, he was sensible of that, and should
always acknowledge it: and with that he offered me a very fine present
of sables, too much indeed for me to accept from a man in his
circumstances; and I would have avoided them, but he would not
be refused.
The next morning I sent my servant to his lordship, with a small present
of tea, two pieces of China damask, and four little wedges of Japan
gold, which, did not all weigh above six ounces, or thereabouts; but
were far short of the value of his sables, which indeed, when I came to
England, I found worth near two hundred pounds. He accepted the tea, and
one piece of the damask, and one of the pieces of gold, which had a fine
stamp upon it, of the Japan coinage, which I found he took for the
rarity of it, but would not take any more; and sent word by my servant,
that he desired to speak with me.
When I came to him, he told me, I knew what had passed between us, and
hoped I would not move him any more in that affair; but that, since I
made such a generous offer to him, he asked me, if I had kindness enough
to offer the same to another person that he would name to me, in whom
he had a great share of concern. I told him, that I could not say I
inclined to do so much for any one but himself, for whom I had a
particular value, and should have been glad to have been the instrument
of his deliverance: however, if he would please to name the person to
me, I would give him my answer, and hoped he would not be displeased
with me, if he was with my answer. He told me, it was only his son, who,
though I had not seen, yet was in the same condition with himself, and
above two hundred miles from him, on the other side the Oby; but that,
if I consented, he would send for him.
I made no hesitation, but told him I would do it. I made some ceremony
in letting him understand that it was wholly on his account; and that
seeing I could not prevail on him, I would shew my respect to him by my
concern for his son: but these things are too tedious to repeat here. He
sent away the next day for his son, and in about twenty days he came
back with the messenger, bringing six or seven horses loaded with very
rich furs, and which, in the whole, amounted to a very great value.
His servants brought the horses into the town, but left the young lord
at a distance till night, when he came _incognito_ into our apartment,
and his father presented him to me; and, in short, we concerted there
the manner of our travelling, and every thing proper for the journey.
I had bought a considerable quantity of sables, black fox-skins, fine
ermines, and such other furs that are very rich; I say, I had bought
them in that city for exchange for some of the goods brought from China;
in particular, for the cloves and nutmegs, of which I sold the greatest
part here; and the rest afterwards at Archangel, for a much better price
than I could have done at Louden; and my partner, who was sensible of
the profit, and whose business, more particularly than mine, was
merchandise, was mightily pleased with our stay, on account of the
traffic we made here.
It was in the beginning of June when I left this remote place, a city,
I believe, little heard of in the world; and, indeed, it is so far out
of the road of commerce, that I know not how it should be much talked
of. We were now come to a very small caravan, being only thirty-two
horses and camels in all, and all of them passed for mine, though my new
guest was proprietor of eleven of them. It was most natural also, that I
should take more servants with me than I had before, and the young lord
passed for my steward; what great man I passed for myself I know not,
neither did it concern me to inquire. We had here the worst and the
largest desert to pass over that we met with in all the journey; indeed
I call it the worst, because the way was very deep in some places, and
very uneven in others; the best we had to say for it was, that we
thought we had no troops of Tartars and robbers to fear, and that they
never came on this side the river Oby, or at least but very seldom; but
we found it otherwise.
My young lord had with him a faithful Muscovite servant, or rather a
Siberian servant, who was perfectly acquainted with the country; and who
led us by private roads, that we avoided coming into the principal towns
and cities upon the great road, such as Tumen, Soloy Kamaskoy, and
several others; because the Muscovite garrisons, which are kept there,
are very curious and strict in their observation upon travellers, and
searching lest any of the banished persons of note should make their
escape that way into Muscovy; but by this means, as we were kept out of
the cities, so our whole journey was a desert, and we were obliged to
encamp and lie in our tents, when we might have had good accommodation
in the cities on the way: this the young lord was so sensible of, that
he would not allow us to lie abroad, when we came to several cities on
the way; but lay abroad himself, with his servant, in the woods, and met
us always at the appointed places.
We were just entered Europe, having passed the river Kama, which, in
these parts, is the boundary between Europe and Asia; and the first city
on the European side was called Soloy Kamaskoy, which is as much as to
say, the great city on the river Kama; and here we thought to have seen
some evident alteration in the people, their manners, their habit, their
religion, and their business; but we were mistaken; for as we had a vast
desert to pass, which, by relation, is near seven hundred miles long in
some places, but not above two hundred miles over where we passed it;
so, till we came past that horrible place, we found very little
difference between that country and the Mogul Tartary; the people mostly
Pagans, and little better than the savages of America; their houses and
towns full of idols, and their way of living wholly barbarous, except in
the cities as above, and the villages near them; where they are
Christians, as they call themselves, of the Greek church; but even these
have their religion mingled with so many relics of superstition, that it
is scarce to be known in some places from mere sorcery and witchcraft.
In passing this forest, I thought indeed we must, after all our dangers
were, in our imagination, escaped, as before, have been plundered and
robbed, and perhaps murdered, by a troop of thieves: of what country
they were; whether the roving bands of the Ostiachi, a kind of Tartars,
or wild people on the banks of the Oby, had ranged thus far; or whether
they were the sable-hunters of Siberia, I am yet at a loss to know; but
they were all on horseback, carried bows and arrows, and were at first
about five-and-forty in number. They came so near to us as within about
two musket shot; and, asking no questions, they surrounded us with their
horses, and looked very earnestly upon us twice. At length they placed
themselves just in our way; upon which we drew up in a little line
before our camels, being not above sixteen men in all; and being drawn
up thus, we halted, and sent out the Siberian servant who attended his
lord, to see who they were: his master was the more willing to let him
go, because he was not a little apprehensive that they were a Siberian
troop sent out after him. The man came up near them with a flag of
truce, and called to them; but though he spoke several of their
languages, or dialects of languages rather, he could not understand a
word they said: however, after some signs to him not to come nearer to
them at his peril, so he said he understood them to mean, offering to
shoot at him if he advanced, the fellow came back no wiser than he went,
only that by their dress, he said, he believed them to be some Tartars
of Kalmuck, or of the Circassian hordes; and that there must be more of
them on the great desert, though he never heard that ever any of them
were seen so far north before.
This was small comfort to us; however, we had no remedy: there was on
our left hand, at about a quarter of a mile’s distance, a little grove
or clump of trees, which stood close together, and very near the road; I
immediately resolved we should advance to those trees, and fortify
ourselves as well as we could there; for, first, I considered that the
trees would in a great measure cover us from their arrows; and in the
next place, they could not come to charge us in a body: it was, indeed,
my old Portuguese pilot who proposed it; and who had this excellency
attending him, namely, that he was always readiest and most apt to
direct and encourage us in cases of the most danger. We advanced
immediately with what speed we could, and gained that little wood, the
Tartars, or thieves, for we knew not what to call them, keeping their
stand, and not attempting to hinder us. When we came thither, we found,
to our great satisfaction, that it was a swampy, springy piece of
ground, and, on the other side, a great spring of water, which, running
out in a little rill or brook, was a little farther joined by another of
the like bigness; and was, in short, the head or source of a
considerable river, called afterwards the Wirtska. The trees which grew
about this spring were not in all above two hundred, but were very
large, and stood pretty thick; so that as soon as we got in, we saw
ourselves perfectly safe from the enemy, unless they alighted and
attacked us on foot.
But to make this more difficult, our Portuguese, with indefatigable
application, cut down great arms of the trees, and laid them hanging,
not cut quite off, from one tree to another; so that he made a continued
fence almost round us.
We staid here, waiting the motion of the enemy some hours, without
perceiving they made any offer to stir; when about two hours before
night, they came down directly upon us; and, though we had not perceived
it, we found they had been joined by some more of the same, so that they
were near fourscore horse, whereof, however, we fancied some were women.
They came in till they were within half a shot of our little wood, when
we fired one musket without ball, and called to them in the Russian
tongue, to know what they wanted, and bid them keep off; but, as if they
knew nothing of what we said, they came on with a double fury directly
to the wood-side, not imagining we were so barricaded, that they could
not break in. Our old pilot was our captain, as well as he had been our
engineer; and desired of us, not to fire upon them till they came within
pistol shot, that we might be sure to kill; and that, when we did fire,
we should be sure to take good aim. We bade him give the word of
command; which he delayed so long, that they were, some of them, within
two pikes length of us when we fired.
We aimed so true, (or Providence directed our shot so sure) that we
killed fourteen of them at the first volley, and wounded several others,
as also several of their horses; for we had all of us loaded our pieces
with two or three bullets apiece at least.
They were terribly surprised with our fire, and retreated immediately
about one hundred rods from us; in which time we loaded our pieces
again, and, seeing them keep that distance, we sallied out, and caught
four or five of their horses, whose riders, we supposed, were killed;
and coming up to the dead, we could easily perceive they were Tartars,
but knew not from what country, or how they came to make an excursion
such an unusual length.
About an hour after, they made a motion to attack us again, and rode
round our little wood, to see where else they might break in; but
finding us always ready to face them, they went off again, and we
resolved not to stir from the place for that night.
We slept but little, you may be sure; but spent the most part of the
night in strengthening our situation, and barricading the entrances into
the wood; and, keeping a strict watch, we waited for daylight, and, when
it came, it gave us a very unwelcome discovery indeed: for the enemy,
who we thought were discouraged with the reception they had met with,
were now increased to no less than three hundred, and had set up eleven
or twelve huts and tents, as if they were resolved to besiege us; and
this little camp they had pitched, was upon the open plain, at about
three quarters of a mile from us. We were indeed surprised at this
discovery; and now, I confess, I gave myself over for lost, and all that
I had. The loss of my effects did not lie so near me (though they were
very considerable) as the thoughts of falling into the hands of such
barbarians, at the latter end of my journey, after so many difficulties
and hazards as I had gone through; and even in sight of our port, where
we expected safety and deliverance. As for my partner, he was raging: he
declared, that to lose his goods would be his ruin; and he would rather
die than be starved; and he was for fighting to the last drop.
The young lord, as gallant as ever flesh shewed itself, was for fighting
to the last also; and my old pilot was of the opinion we were able to
resist them all, in the situation we then were in: and thus we spent the
day in debates of what we should do; but towards evening, we found that
the number of our enemies still increased: perhaps, as they were abroad
in several parties for prey, the first had sent out scouts to call for
help, and to acquaint them of their booty; and we did not know but by
the morning they might still be a greater number; so I began to inquire
of those people we had brought from Tobolski, if there were no other, or
more private ways, by which we might avoid them in the night, and
perhaps either retreat to some town, or get help to guard us over
the desert.
The Siberian, who was servant to the young lord, told us, if we designed
to avoid them, and not fight, he would engage to carry us off in the
night to a way that went north towards the river Petraz, by which he
made no doubt but we might get away, and the Tartars never the wiser;
but he said, his lord had told him he would not return, but would rather
choose to fight. I told him, he mistook his lord; for that he was too
wise a man to love fighting for the sake of it; that I knew his lord was
brave enough by what he had shewed already; but that his lord knew
better than to desire to have seventeen or eighteen men fight five
hundred, unless an unavoidable necessity forced them to it; and that if
he thought it possible for us to escape in the night, we had nothing
else to do but to attempt it. He answered, if his lord gave him such
order, he would lose his life if he did not perform it. We soon brought
his lord to give that order, though privately, and we immediately
prepared for the putting it in practice.
And first, as soon as it began to be dark, we kindled a fire in our
little camp, which we kept burning, and prepared so as to make it burn
all night, that the Tartars might conclude we were still there; but, as
soon as it was dark, that is to say, so as we could see the stars, (for
our guide would not stir before) having all our horses and camels ready
loaded, we followed our new guide, who, I soon found, steered himself by
the pole or north star, all the country being level for a long way.
After we had travelled two hours very hard, it began to be lighter
still; not that it was quite dark all night, but the moon; began to
rise; so that, in short, it was rather lighter than we wished it to be;
but by six o’clock next morning we were gotten near forty miles, though
the truth is, we almost spoiled our horses. Here we found a Russian
village, named Kirmazinskoy, where we rested, and heard, nothing of the
Kalmuck Tartars that day. About two hours before night we set out again,
and travelled till eight the next morning, though not quite so hastily
as before; and about seven o’clock we passed a little river, called
Kirtza, and came to a good large town inhabited by Russians, and very
populous, called Ozomya. There we heard, that several troops or herds of
Kalmucks had been abroad upon the desert, but that we were now
completely out of danger of them, which was to our great satisfaction,
you may be sure. Here we were obliged to get some fresh horses, and
having need enough of rest, we staid five days; and my partner and I
agreed to give the honest Siberian, who brought us hither, the value of
ten pistoles for his conducting us.