_FROM CHITA TO NERTCHINSK._
The Trans-Baikal province.--Books deposited with Governor.--Specimen
letter of consignment.--Prisons and hospitals.--Governor’s
distribution of books.--Satisfactory results.--Journey from
Chita.--Buriat _Obos_.--Russian emigrants.--Salutations.--Approach
to Nertchinsk.--Its mineral treasures.
The Trans-Baikal province is bounded on the south and east by Chinese
territory, on the west by Lake Baikal, and on the north by the province
of Yakutsk. It measures 830 miles from east to west, and 460 miles from
north to south; its entire area covering about 240,000 square miles. It
is thus not quite so large as Austria.[1]
Before leaving the capital, Chita, we deposited with the Governor
enough books for his prisons and hospitals; and since this region
was so important, from my point of view, in regard to its penal
establishments, and our efforts, moreover, here met with such good
success, I shall give the substance of a letter which I wrote to the
Governor (in French), and which is a fair specimen of similar letters
written to the other Governors throughout Siberia:--
“TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OF ----.
“SIR,--
“I have the honour to beg your acceptance of -- boxes of books
containing -- large New Testaments, -- small New Testaments,
-- Gospels, -- Psalms, -- New Testaments in French, German,
Polish, Tatar, and Buriat, -- copies of the _Rooski Rabotchi_, --
wall-pictures, and -- tracts. Will your Excellency do me the favour
to accept them for the prisons, hospitals, poor-houses, and schools
of the government of ----? I shall be thankful if the copies of the
_Rooski Rabotchi_ (Russian Workman) and the tracts may be given
to the children in schools to be taken to their homes, and thus
distributed as much as possible among the people. As for the books,
I wish that they should remain in the rooms (not in the libraries)
of the prisons, hospitals, etc. If the chief of each room may be
made responsible for the books as for the other property of the
prisons, etc., I shall be glad; but in any case I wish that the books
may be had without asking for them from the library. I hope with
your assistance in the government of ---- to place a New Testament
or a copy of the Gospels in _every_ room of _every_ prison and
hospital throughout Siberia; and I shall be very thankful if I may
hear from you, at my English address, how the distribution has been
made, because I shall probably send an account of my tour to the
authorities at St. Petersburg.
“I have the honour to be, etc., etc., etc.”
The Governor of the Trans-Baikal province, M. Pedachenko, spoke of
his four large hospitals and 10 smaller, or occasional hospitals. He
told us also that he had in his government four permanent prisons,
besides those at the mines, namely, at Nertchinsk, Troitzkosavsk,
Verchne Udinsk, and Chita, the last three of which we saw. The number
of prisoners was given us as about 150 each at Chita and Nertchinsk.[2]
M. Pedachenko was good enough to promise that a small shelf should be
put up in each room (under the _ikon_ I suggested), on which the books
might rest when not in use; and this promise he carried out.[3]
I have dwelt particularly on what we were able to distribute in the
Za-Baikal for two reasons; first, because the letter of the Governor,
together with our own observations, give an insight into the number
of prisons existing in this province, which of all others was that
reserved for the worst of exiles; and, secondly, because of the
satisfaction it afforded me, when looking back upon the work as a
whole, to feel that the Scriptures and other reading material had been
deposited in these out-of-the-way places, especially those of Kara,
Nertchinsk, and Algatche. Had nothing more been effected than this, and
what I subsequently learned was done at Tiumen, these two results would
have well repaid me for the journey.
Late on the afternoon of Monday, July 21st, the day of our arrival, we
left Chita and proceeded towards Nertchinsk, a distance of 180 miles,
where we intended to make our next stoppage. The road ran within sight
of the river, and as the route was hilly we had pretty views. Some of
the hills I measured as 400 feet above the level of the river, and my
barometer, at the highest point, stood at 2,350 feet above the sea. The
hills were rounded and well wooded, whilst the lower land resembled
English downs. We saw some of the flora of which Baron Rosen speaks so
admiringly, and among them a flower we had not noticed before, like
blue larkspur. On both sides of the Yablonoi range are grown wheat,
rye, oats, hemp, flax, potatoes, cabbage, turnips, lettuce, radishes,
onions, spinach, and horseradish. In the valleys was abundance of
grass, but few cattle to graze it. We saw also buckwheat and barley
growing, but neither the fields under cultivation, nor the Russian
inhabitants, were numerous, nor did we come in contact, after passing
Chita, with many Buriats, though we inspected one of their sacred spots
on a hill not far from that town. It consisted of a few rough stones
piled together, with some dried branches of trees, on which were hung
small flags and strips of calico, having inscribed on them verses in
the Thibetan or Mongolian language. We had passed several of these
south of the Baikal, and the Russian drivers had usually told us that
they were Buriats’ graves. Sometimes there were sweetmeats lying about,
and copper money, which the Russian yemstchiks did not scruple to
collect and pocket. Sometimes, too, we found horse-shoes strewn around,
and almost invariably a quantity of tufts of horse-hair tied to the
bushes, the appearance of the whole reminding one of the so-called holy
wells to which the Romanists of Ireland make pilgrimage. The yemstchiks
said that the flags painted with demons were to frighten devils away,
and that the coins and sweets were given as offerings to their God; but
that if a Buriat had nothing to give, he cut off a piece of his horse’s
tail and tied it to the bush.
I noticed that these spots were usually on elevated ground, like the
“high places” denounced by the Hebrew prophets, and after reading the
travels of Huc, Erman, and Hill, I make no doubt that they were not
Buriats’ graves at all, but the _obos_ which are erected throughout
Tartary, and at which the people worship the spirits of the mountains,
a superstition of the Shamanist Buriats, which extends, at least
partially, to other aboriginal tribes in Siberia.[4]
As we passed along the road, we sometimes overtook companies of
emigrants from Russia, or from other parts of Siberia, who were
wandering further east. We heard, at Barnaul, that peasants are
encouraged thus to migrate. Also, we sometimes drove by labourers in
the fields, which gave an opportunity to the passing yemstchik to
salute them in Russian fashion: “_Bogh pomotch_,” “May God be your
help,” to which the reply is, “_Spasibo_,” “Thank you,” or “Save you!”
a very similar custom to that I have observed in the west of Ireland,
where the car-driver accosts his brother Pat, digging potatoes, with
a “Bal o’ ye airth,” “God bless the work,” or, more probably, it will
be, “God and Mary bless the work,” to which Pat replies, “And you too.”
They both remind one of the salutation of the Hebrew, Boaz, “The Lord
be with you!” to which his reapers replied, “The Lord bless thee!”
I confess to having been sometimes tired of travelling so many days
without being able to read; I managed to get through only two or three
small works, for, notwithstanding my air-cushions and a paper-knife
placed below the line I was looking at, the shaking of the tarantass
rendered study almost impossible. After leaving Chita on Monday, we
travelled all day and all night on Tuesday, and on Wednesday found
ourselves approaching Nertchinsk, a town surrounded by a hilly district
noted for its minerals. The mining region extends over a large area,
and for a long period of years provided employment to vast numbers of
convicts, as also for many Polish exiles after the insurrection of
1863. The mines were worked under the supervision and direction of an
able chief, with a numerous staff of officers; and many distinguished
mineralogists here commenced their career. Up to the year 1847, silver
and lead formed the principal products.[5] Tin and zinc also, and the
aqua marina are found in the neighbourhood of Nertchinsk, and 130
miles to the south is the mountain of Odon Tchelon, celebrated for
its gems, including the topaz and emerald, which latter Mr. Erman
speaks of as green, yellow, and blue. To these minerals must be added
gold, which is found in large quantities in the bed of the Nertcha and
its tributaries, besides iron, antimony, and arsenic. In Petersburg,
I heard the gold-mines of Nertchinsk spoken of as “large and well
worked”; but other reports went to show that the Government mines
brought in little to the Crown; and we heard that most of them about
Nertchinsk have been sold, so that mining affairs at the time of our
visit were in a transition state.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The surface is mountainous; one range, the Yablonoi, running from
north to south, is the watershed of numerous rivers. The streams from
the western slopes drain into Lake Baikal; the largest one towards
the north, the Vitim, finds its way to the Lena, whilst the remainder
run into the Argun, which flows at the south of the province and
into the Ingoda and Onon, which form the Shilka. The population of
the government is 430,000, of which the town inhabitants number only
4 per cent. In 1867 the population was 380,000, of whom there were
400 hereditary nobles, 1,000 personally noble, 1,700 ecclesiastical
persons, 11,000 townspeople, 109,000 rural inhabitants, 4,000 military,
9 foreigners, and 164,000 natives. The present population is quoted as
10,000 less than that given by the Almanack for 1875, which diminution
probably arises from emigration to the region of the Amur, and from
the Government sending fewer exiles here than formerly. There were
throughout the government, in the year 1875, about 3,000 marriages,
16,000 births, and 12,000 deaths. The province is divided into seven
uyezds; and among its principal towns, besides the capital, are
Verchne Udinsk, Selenginsk, and Troitzkosavsk, on or near the Selenga,
Barguzin, near the Baikal, and Nertchinsk, to all of which we went with
the exception of Barguzin. Barguzin is the chief town of the district,
but is not otherwise remarkable.
[2] We had deposited with the Ispravniks of Verchne Udinsk and
Troitzkosavsk Russian New Testaments, Tatar Gospels, and Buriat
Scriptures for the prisons and for the Troitzkosavsk poor-house, which
last, as far as I remember, was the only one of this kind we heard of
during our tour, unless it were at Perm, and, perhaps, Barnaul. In
addition to these the Governor at Chita accepted 25 wall-pictures of
the Prodigal Son, 12 Tatar Gospels, 14 large Russian New Testaments, 50
small ones, 60 Russian Gospels, 20 Psalms, 3 New Testaments in Polish,
French, and German, 38 Buriat portions, 75 copies of the _Russian
Workman_, and 200 tracts.
[3] At a further stage of my journey I had the opportunity of sending
additional books to M. Pedachenko, and on the following February 4th I
received in England the following letter:--
TCHITA, _le 12 Decembre, 1879._
MONSIEUR,--Je me fais un plaisir de vous faire savoir, que j’ai reçu
votre lettre du 9 Juillet de même que les livres et les brochures
religieuses, qui ont été tous distribués.
A _Kara_: Dans les prisons, les hôpitaux, et l’établissement de
charité, d’ Alexandre:--
13 Papiers pour les murailles,
43 Petits Evangiles,
7 Grands Evangiles,
8 Psaumes,
3 Nouveaux Testaments Polonais, Français, Allemands,
29 Brochures _Rouski Rabotchi_,
60 Différentes brochures,
22 Anciens Testaments Mongols.
A _Algatche_: Dans les prisons et les hôpitaux:--
3 Papiers pours les murailles,
2 Psaumes,
2 Grands Evangiles,
9 _Rouski Rabotchi_,
13 Petits Evangiles,
15 Brochures religieuses.
A _Nertchinsk_: Dans l’hôpital et la prison:--
2 Papiers pours les murailles,
2 Psaumes,
1 Grand Evangile,
9 _Rouski Rabotchi_,
13 Petits Evangiles,
9 Brochures religieuses,
4 Anciens Testaments Mongols.
A _Tchita_: Dans la prison:--
2 Papiers pour les murailles,
13 Psaumes,
1 Grand Evangile,
10 _Rouski Rabotchi_,
14 Petits Evangiles,
10 Brochures religieuses,
4 Anciens Testaments Mongols.
Pour les _Forçats de Nertchinsk_:--
3 Papiers pour les murailles,
2 Grands Evangiles,
15 _Rouski Rabotchi_,
13 Petits Evangiles,
9 Brochures religieuses,
2 Psaumes,
4 Anciens Testaments Mongols.
A l’hôpital de _Strétinsk_:--
2 Papiers pour les murailles,
1 Ancien Testament Tatare,
3 Brochures religieuses.
D’après votre désir, Monsieur, les livres distribués dans les prisons
et les hôpitaux sont placés sur des tablettes, afin qu’on puisse s’en
servir en tout temps. Les serviteurs sont chargés de les tenir en
ordre.
Recevez, Monsieur, mes plus sincères remerciements pour votre
précieuse offrande,
J’ai l’honneur d’être,
Votre très humble serviteur,
(Signed) JEAN PEDACHENKO.
[4] The natives believe that their shamans have more power than
other people with the spirits infesting the mountains. Accordingly,
sacrifices are offered to these spirits, and are carried off secretly
by the shamans. Horse-hair seems to hold a conspicuous place in
connection with their superstitions. Mr. Erman speaks of the practice
of the Yakutes in tying knots of it on trees; and Mr. Hill states
that the Yakutes informed him that the rites of their ancient worship
consisted for the most part in sacrifices to invisible spirits, and
that portions of the horses’ tails were attached to trees to notify
to the spirits who might chance to pass by that such rites had been
performed, and that thereabouts they would find the offered sacrifice.
From the oldest times the Buriats have been accustomed about midsummer,
when the cattle are in good condition, to celebrate festivals for the
good spirits, the rites being followed by wrestling matches, and other
popular amusements; and the crafty Buddhist lamas have recognised and
sanctioned these ancient usages, in order that the Buriats may regard
the new religion only as an extension or completion of the old.
[5] Of the former 4 tons, and of the latter 570 tons, were produced
annually. The discovery of lead was of great importance, as it had been
previously necessary to bring it all the way from England to Barnaul
for the smelting of the ores of the Altai, in which region little or
no lead is found. The lead of Nertchinsk, however, did not find its
way so far as the Russian arsenals, because, by reason of carriage, it
would have cost six times the price of English lead delivered either in
Petersburg or Moscow.