THE STEPPES OF RUSSIA.
Extent and boundaries of the Steppes—The Tchorno-ziemé—Soil
and aspect—Their productions—Appearance of the Steppes
in spring, summer, and winter—Snow-storms, called
“Metel” and “Boura”—“Balkas,” or ravines—Roads, their
state in spring—Tumuli or “Kourgans”—False tumuli—The
mirage—Tchernomore Steppes—From Don to Moloshna—Moloshna to
Dniepr—German colonies—Inhabitants of Steppes—Game—Soroke or
Marmot—Biroke—Suslic—The Steppes occupy two-thirds of Crimea.
The vast plains which extend over one-fifth of the whole Russian empire
in Europe,[27] or more than twice the size of France, are known both
to natives and foreigners by the name of the “Steppes,” and present
a monotonous level from the confines of Moldavia to the high plateau
of Central Asia.[28] An imaginary line drawn through Krementchouk and
the northern part of Tambof forms their limit to the north, and to the
south they are bounded by the Black Sea and the Azof; they also extend
over all the northern parts of the Crimean peninsula. After passing the
Sea of Azof they expand to the south and occupy the space between the
Azof and Caspian as far south as the Terek and the Kuban, which are the
boundaries of Circassia, and very distinctly mark their limits in that
direction. On the north they reach the Oural Mountains, and then crossing
the river of that name they join the deserts of Tatary, and increase
in breadth to the north and south as they approach the great Asiatic
table-land. They are totally devoid of trees or shrubs, have a soil of
varying fertility, and a very scanty population.
In the north of Russia the ground is naturally covered with trees and
shrubs, and produces immense forests, but where the Steppes begin, the
forests end. Much has been written on the causes of the treeless aspect
of the Steppes, and on the possibility of covering them with forests by
planting. Some consider that they were in ancient times covered with
wood, which has been destroyed by the nomade peoples who in all ages have
inhabited them. The authority of Strabo is used, who mentions the country
between Perecop and the Dniepr under the name of Hylæa,[29] because of
its dense forests, although there is not now a shrub to be seen there;
and Haxthausen says he observed in the government of Saratof, which
belongs to the region of the Steppes, that the rivers Irguiss, Jároslaw,
and Aktóuba were still bordered by splendid forests of oaks, beech,
poplars, and willows, although pines were never to be met with.[30]
Murchison, however, with reason I venture to think, utterly disbelieves
in the former existence of forests that have been destroyed, and thinks
that the total absence of trees in Southern Russia results from general
conditions of climate, and from the want of dew, which is the cause
commonly assigned for it by the inhabitants of the country itself.
But if there be no trees or shrubs, the southern provinces of Russia
enjoy a herbaceous vegetation of extreme richness, which occupies the
soil with a vigour of growth which is rarely met with in Europe, and
grasses, which in other places scarcely attain the height of a foot,
are met with in the Steppes reaching upwards of six feet. The reason
of this prolific vegetation is that the Steppes are mostly within the
region of the celebrated tchorno-ziemé, or black earth, which is a
deposit of amazing fertility, peculiar to the southern part of Russia.
“The tchorno-zèm,” says Murchison,[31] “has its northernmost limit
defined by a waving line, which passing from near Kief and Tchérnigof,
a little to the south of Líchvia, appears in 54° of north latitude in
that tract, then advances in its course eastward to 57°, and occupies the
left bank of the Volga west of Tcheboksar, between Nijny Novgorod and
Kazan. In approaching the Ural chain we saw no black earth to the north
of Kazan, but it was plentiful on the Kama and around Ufa. Again, on the
Asiatic or Siberian side of the Ural Mountains, we travelled through one
large mass of it near Kamensk, south of the Issetz river, in latitude
56° north, and through another between Miask and Troitsk. In the great
Siberian plains we heard that it spreads over considerable spaces in
the eastern, central, and southern parts of that region. Although we
met with it occasionally in the low gorges of the Ural chain, and in
the Bashkír country on both flanks of the southern Ural (in plateaux
more than 1000 feet above the level of the sea), and also in the Steppes
of the Kirguiss; we did not see it in the plains near Orenburg, nor
to the south of that city. There is none to the south of Tzáritzin on
the Volga, in the Steppes of the Kalmucks between that place and the
mouth of the Don; and it is only in very limited patches along the Sea
of Azof, or, in other words, on the southern face of that elevation
between the Dniepr and the Don which constitutes what is commonly
called the granitic Steppe. It occurs, however, in great thickness on
the plateaux on the northern side of that axis, where it surmounts
the carboniferous limestone with many seams of coal, so that it might
at first sight be supposed to be produced by the decomposition of the
subjacent carbonaceous strata. It lies, however, upon rocks of all ages,
and occupies the centre of a trough, large as an European empire, having
the detritus of the crystalline and older rocks for its northern, and
the low granite Steppes and Caspian deposits for its southern limits.”
It occupies an area of about 180 millions of acres in European Russia,
and varies from a few feet to fifteen and twenty feet in thickness. “In
travelling over these black tracts in a dry summer we were often,” says
Murchison, “during a whole day, more or less surrounded by a cloud of
black dust, arising from the dried up tchorno-zèm, which is of so subtile
a nature as to rise up through the sod in rich grass countries under the
stamp of the horses’ feet, and forms so dense a cloud that the traveller
is often begrimed like a working collier.”
It is not the humus arising from decayed forests or vegetables during
the present period of the world’s history, as no trace of trees, roots,
or vegetable fibre is found in it in any part of the empire. In the
northern parts of Russia, where the forests have been lately cleared,
no vestige of it exists, while it abounds south of a certain line, or
exactly in those extensive and steppe-like undulations which have been
devoid of trees throughout all known time. Its extreme fertility is
attributed to the unusually large quantity of nitrogen which it contains;
and its origin is referred to the period when the Russian continent was
still submerged, and the tchorno-ziemé (which Russian economists justly
consider as one of the most precious treasures of the empire) was the
mud at the bottom of a great internal sea. This union of the black
earth with a temperate climate in the Steppes between the Dniestr and
the Don already enables the inhabitants of those countries to send, as
from Mariopol, the finest wheat to the European markets, and justifies
economists in looking forward to this region as one destined to a
brilliant future. On the shores of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof and
eastward of the Don the Steppes become less fertile, until, wearing a
more and more barren aspect, they gradually get blended with the sandy
deserts of Tatary. On the eastern shore of the Sea of Azof, in the
countries of the Don and Tchernomorsky Cossacks,[32] there is, however,
some splendid land, and large quantities of corn and linseed are sent
thence, northwards to Taganrok for exportation, and southwards to supply
the army of the Caucasus. The Steppes are in parts covered with a rich
herbage, on which feed large herds of horses, cattle, sheep, and camels.
The upper layer of the soil of the Steppes presents a great variety
in its composition, from lands impregnated with saline substances,
and moving sands, to the mixtures most favourable to vegetation. As
this upper layer rests upon a subsoil which does not easily permit
infiltration, it is upon its thickness that depends its fertility; for,
where it is not deep enough to retain humidity, the land becomes easily
saturated by rain, and dried by evaporation. This circumstance is a
great check to cultivation, because long droughts are common in these
countries. All the Steppes are not in this disadvantageous position,
although such is their predominant character in several governments to
the south and east of the empire. This want of rain, and absence of
natural means for retaining moisture, such as hills or trees, is one
of the greatest calamities of the country; but the vegetation of that
part of the Steppes which is only used for pasturage has a particular
character which modifies the influence of the droughts. Nature here shows
a wonderful variety of resources.
The vegetation of the spring lasts about three months, and if this period
passes without abundant rains, the grass does not reach its natural
height. It dries in a moment, when the stalk has all its richness, and
thus forming a natural kind of hay, it offers to the cattle during nine
months a very substantial food, and these pastures are in consequence
particularly favourable to sheep. When, on the contrary, the rains of
spring are very abundant, the vegetation becomes rank, and the grass
sometimes reaches four times its natural height. In such seasons the
“stipa capillata” springs up, the prickly fruit of which proves injurious
to sheep by penetrating their flesh, and often causing their death. The
pasture at the same time is less wholesome and nourishing: in short, by a
singular contrast in this country, which is generally condemned for its
droughts, the proprietors of the Steppes often prefer a dry season to one
too rainy. The vegetation of the pasturing Steppes also presents another
peculiarity, that the grass is not spread in an even manner over it, but
in isolated spots, which form a kind of oases. The even turf is only
found in very low valleys.
The Steppes are divided by one writer into “eternal Steppes” and
“accidental Steppes:” the first are those where the layer of soil is so
thin that they never can be cultivated, and trees will never be able to
grow; while the others are highly favourable to agriculture, and some
remains of ancient forests are found in the low valleys. In the Steppes
near Taganrok, as long as they are uncultivated, there is a kind of
natural rotation of crops. To the herbage, which sometimes is as high as
a man’s waist, succeeds the next year a coarse weed called “bourian,”
which rises to the height of three or four feet, and is cut to use as
fuel. Though it burns very quickly, it serves for Russian stoves, which,
heated for a quarter of an hour, will keep an apartment warm during the
whole day. To the bourian succeeds a thin kind of grass, and then about
the third year the pasture is again excellent. A considerable portion of
the Steppes is cultivated, and, without any artificial means, produces
some of the finest wheat known. A rest of one or two years suffices to
restore to the ground its original fertility, and the enormous tracts
of uncultivated land make it never necessary to overtax its powers. In
other parts the cultivation of the Steppes differs from that of all
other countries. Certain kinds of grain are sown for several years in
succession, and then the ground is left fallow, and becomes covered with
grass. The first year weeds spring up in abundance, and then in the
second and third years the pasturage becomes excellent. When the soil
seems sufficiently recovered, it is again ploughed. This agricultural
cycle occupies from ten to fifteen years, according to the fertility of
the soil.[33]
M. Haxthausen divides the Steppes into five classes:
1. The tertiary calcareous formation predominates in Bessarabia, Kaddia,
and a small part of the government of Kherson.
2. The chalk forms the base of the soil in the north, and embraces the
Steppes of the governments of Kharkof, Woroneje, Tambof, a part of the
country of the Cossacks of the Don, and the government of Saratof.
3. The granitic base, which is a spur from the Carpathians, extends along
the Black Sea and the Sea of Azof to the Caucasus.
4. The Steppes of alluvial deposit extend to the south-east along the
Kuban and Terek, which run east and west at the foot of the northern
slopes of the Caucasus.
5. The Steppes of saline base extend to the east as far as the river
Jaik, which runs into the Caspian Sea on the north, and on which is
situated Orenbourg.
The Steppes of the three first formations have a situation much higher
above the level of the sea than the alluvial and saline steppes, which
Pallas thinks evidently formed the bottom of the waters when the Caspian
was united to the Black Sea. They are everywhere covered by a rich layer
of humus, more or less thick. The alluvial Steppes are of extraordinary
fertility wherever the soil is not covered with marshes.
The granitic Steppes are mostly covered with a thick short grass, while
the chalky and calcareous Steppes produce herbage which reaches six or
seven feet in height, and a profusion of beautiful varieties of wild
flowers. The banks of the rivers are covered with reeds, which reach in
the alluvial Steppes an enormous height. The cynarocephalus, a kind of
reed, in German “kletten,” which is used as fuel, is found from thirty to
forty feet in height. That portion of the country of the Steppes which
is likely to be of great future importance is the one situated above the
Black Sea and the Sea of Azof, between the Carpathian Mountains and the
Don.
For a short period, in April and May, the Steppes present a beautiful
appearance. The brilliant green of the rising crops of corn, and the
fresh grass, intermingled with flowers of the most lively colours, are
pleasing to the eye, and give a charm to the monotony of the scenery.
A hot scorching sun, however, soon withers the grass, which assumes a
brownish hue, and clouds of dust increase the dreariness and parched
appearance of the Steppes. During the winter the ground is covered with
snow, which at times lies several feet deep. Unimpeded by mountains,
forests, or rising ground, the winds from the north-east, passing over
many hundred miles of frozen ground, blow with resistless violence, and
often uninterruptedly for several weeks. When the frost is severe, and
the snow in a dry powdery state, the wind drifts it about and obscures
the air. These snow-storms are called by the inhabitants “metel” or
“boura,” and have often proved fatal to the half-frozen, blinded, and
bewildered traveller, who, having lost his way, is wandering over the
dreary icy Steppes in search of a place of refuge. Detached houses and
whole villages are sometimes buried by the drifting snow, through which
the inmates are obliged to cut their way. At times the traveller looks in
vain for the solitary post-house at which he is always anxious to arrive,
and learns only that he has reached his temporary resting-place by a
slight rise in the snow, and by his sledge being overturned into a hole,
through which he creeps down into the snug cottage, which is sometimes
thus buried for several weeks. When the wind blows with violence, and the
snow is drifted about in eddies, the storm has a singularly bewildering
and stunning effect. The inhabitants themselves lose their way, and the
herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, that happen to be surprised by it,
become seized with a panic, and, rushing headlong before the gale, defy
every obstacle that presents itself to their wild career. They are then
inevitably lost, and, overcome by fatigue, they either perish in the
snow, or meet their death by falling down the precipitous sides of some
ravine. These ravines are called “Balkas,” and occur frequently in the
Steppes that lie between the Dniestr and the Don. To the north of the
Crimea they are most frequent, and in some parts follow each other in
quick succession, and always in the direction from north to south.
The roads in Southern Russia are mere tracks, and those on which post
communications are established have earth thrown up at their sides, and
at intervals conical mounds of earth or stone to indicate the way. The
bridges across the ravines are generally in such a dilapidated condition,
that but few of them can be trusted.
The melting of the snow in the months of March and April changes the
ravines into torrents, the waters of which, rushing with incredible
violence, form an insurmountable obstacle to travellers. The ground,
saturated with the melted snow, becomes so soft that light-laden waggons
sink in it to the axletrees, and during this season it is not uncommon
to meet the wrecks of many of them that could not be dragged through the
mud, and have been abandoned. Post-carts,[34] that convey but one or two
persons besides the driver, of the lightest and smallest description,
dragged by five horses, proceed only at a foot’s pace.
One of the few characteristic features of the Steppes is the number of
tumuli or artificial mounds that are scattered over their surface, and
in some localities, especially towards the Azof, they are found lying
together in great numbers.[35] These tumuli, or “kourgans” as they are
called by the natives, are often found to contain valuable relics of
early ages. There are other artificial mounds, similar to tumuli, in
certain directions, at intervals of from one to three versts, extending
over long lines of country, which are supposed to have served as
watch-posts and beacons to the roving hordes who used to inhabit these
plains. On each mound a watch-tower was probably erected, and a beacon
prepared, which, when lighted at proper seasons, would serve either to
guide them home from a predatory excursion, or give them timely notice
of the approach of an enemy. During the summer months the well-known
phenomenon called the “mirage” is often seen, and its effects are as
beautiful and deceitful as those described in Africa. That part of the
Steppes, called the Tchernomore, between the Kuban and the Don, with
the exception of the districts in the immediate vicinity of the sea, is
almost exclusively devoted to the rearing of horses, horned cattle, and
sheep. From the Don westwards to the river Moloshna, the land is mostly
used for tillage. From the Moloshna, again westwards to the Dniepr, the
Steppes, principally inhabited by the Tatar Nogai tribes, are but little
cultivated, and might afford pasturage to a far larger quantity of cattle
and horses than now graze upon them.
The German colonies of the Moloshna, and others of less importance in
the vicinity of Mariopol, may be well compared to oases in the desert.
Their neat cottages, with well-built barns and out-houses, surrounded by
trees and gardens, and by highly cultivated fields, bear the signs of
wealth and comfort, and of the care bestowed upon them by an industrious
and intelligent population. The German colonies form a striking contrast
to the dreary country in which they are situated, and to the miserable
Russian villages, and the still more wretched Tatar aouls, around
them. Their situation is always well chosen on some sloping ground,
on the border of one of the few rivulets that water the country. The
population of the Steppes is of a mixed character, and is composed of
Little Russians, Tatars, Greeks, Cossacks, German colonists, Kalmucks,
and Armenians. Although living in the immediate vicinity of each other,
they neither intermarry nor associate much with one another. They differ
in religion and character and features and manners, and retain the
distinctive stamp of their origin.
Game abounds on the Steppes. The large and small bustard are seen in
flocks in the districts to the north of Crimea. The “streppet,” of a
larger size and lighter hue than the grouse, the only English bird
to which it can be compared, partridges, quails, hares, snipe, and
woodcocks, are to be met with in great numbers, and are remarkable for
their fine flavour. Wolves are scarce, and are never seen in packs as in
Central and Northern Russia.
“Innumerable inhabitants of a smaller race people these immense plains.
Among these is the suroke, or marmot of the Alps, which is seen in all
parts of the Steppes, sitting erect near its burrow, and on the slightest
alarm whistling very loud, and observing all around. It makes such
extensive subterraneous chambers, that the ground is perforated in all
directions, and the land destroyed, wherever the animal is found. The
peasants universally give them the name of ‘Wastie.’
“The biroke is a grey animal, something like a wolf, very ferocious, and
daring enough to attack a man. The Cossack peasants, armed with their
lances, sally forth and chase it over their plains.
“The most numerous of all the animals of the Steppes are the suslics,[36]
which absolutely swarm in all the Steppes. They make a whistling noise
like the suroke, but are much smaller, not being larger than a small
weasel. They construct their habitations under ground with incredible
quickness, excavating first of all a small cylindrical hole or well
perpendicularly to the depth of three feet; thence, like a correct miner,
shooting out levels, although rather in an ascending direction, to
prevent being incommoded by water. At the extremity of his little gallery
the suslic forms a very spacious chamber, to which, as to a granary, he
brings every morning and evening all he can collect of favourite herbage,
of corn, if it can be found, and roots, and other food. Nothing is more
amusing than to observe the habits of this little animal. If any one
approaches, it is seen sitting at the entrance of its little dwelling,
erect upon its hind-feet, like the suroke, carefully watching all that is
going on around it. Nothing annoys it so much as water; and if some be
poured into its hole, it comes out and is easily caught.”[37]
Such is a brief account of the Steppes which occupy a considerable
portion of the Russian empire, and as they likewise form nearly
two-thirds of the whole Crimea, and approach within a short distance of
Sevastopol in the direction of Inkerman, this description in the main
features will also apply to that peninsula.