This is a name which makes people _shiver_, because it reminds them of
the cold. It is a name which makes the Russians _tremble_, because it
reminds them of banishment, for the emperor often sends those who offend
him to live in Siberia.
Yet Siberia is not an ugly country, such as Tartary. It is not one dead
flat, but it contains mountains, and forests, and rivers. Neither is
Siberia a country in which nothing will grow; in some parts there is
wheat, and where _wheat_ will not grow _barley_ will, and where _barley_
will not grow _turnips_ will. Yet there are not many cornfields in
Siberia, for very few people live there. In the woods you will find
blackberries, and wild roses, like those in England; and _red_ berries,
as well as _black_ berries, and _lilies_ as well as _roses_.
Still it must be owned that Siberia is a very cold country; for the snow
is not melted till June, and it begins to fall again in September; so
there are only two whole months without snow; they are July and August.
INHABITANTS.--The Russians are the masters of Siberia, and they have
built several large towns there. But these towns are very far apart, and
there are many wild tribes wandering about the country.
One of these tribes is the Ostyaks. Their houses are in the shape of
boxes, for they are square with flat roofs. There is a door, but you must
stoop low to get in at it, unless you are a very little child; and there
is a window with fish-skin instead of light. There is a chimney, too, and
a blazing fire of logs in a hole in the ground. There is a trough, too,
instead of a dining-table, and out of it the whole family eat, and even
the dogs sometimes. The house is not divided into rooms, but into stalls,
like those of a stable; and deer-skins are spread in the stalls, and they
are the beds; each person sits and sleeps in his own stall, on his own
deer-skin, except when the family gather round the fire, and sitting on
low stools, warm themselves, and talk together.
In one of these snug corners, an old woman was seen, quite blind, yet
sewing all day, and threading her needle by the help of her tongue. She
wore a veil of thick cloth over her head, as all the Ostyak women do, and
as she did not need light, she hid her head completely under it.
But though the Ostyaks are poor, they possess a great treasure in their
dogs, for these creatures are as useful as horses, and much more
sensible. They need no whip to make them go, and no bridle to turn them
the right way; it is enough to _tell_ them when to set out, and to stop,
or to turn, to move faster, or more slowly. These dogs are white, spotted
with black; the hair on their bodies is short, but long on their handsome
curling tails. They draw their masters in sledges, and are yoked in
pairs. There are some large sledges, in which a man can lie down in
comfort: to draw such a sledge twelve dogs are necessary; but there are
small sledges in which a poor Ostyak can just manage to crouch, and two
dogs can draw it. When the dogs are to be harnessed, they are not caught,
as horses are, but only called. Yet they do not like work better than
horses like it, and when they first set out they howl, but grow quiet
after a little while.
The driver is sometimes cruel to these poor dogs, and corrects them for
the smallest fault, by throwing a stone at them, or the great club he
holds in his hand, or at least a snow-ball: if a hungry dog but stoop
down to pick up a morsel of food on the road, he is punished in this
manner. Yet it must be owned, that the dogs have their faults; they are
greedy, and inclined to thieving. To keep food out of their way, the
Ostyaks build store-houses, on the tops of very high poles. The dogs are
always on the watch to slip into their master's houses. If the door be
left open ever so little, a dog will squeeze in, if he can; but he does
not stay _long_ within, for he is soon thrust out with blows and kicks;
the women scream at the sight of a dog in the hut, for they fear lest he
will find the fish-trough. Yet after long journeys, the dogs are brought
into the hut, and permitted to lie down by the fire, and to eat out of
the family trough. At other times they sleep in the snow, and eat
whatever is thrown to them. When they travel, bags of dried fish are
brought in their sledges, to feed them by the way. The puppies are
tenderly treated, and petted by the fire; yet many are killed for the
sake of their fleecy hair, which is considered a fine ornament for
pelisses.
The Ostyaks have another, and a greater treasure than dogs; they have
reindeer. Those who live by fishing have dogs only, but those who dwell
among the hills, have deer as well as dogs. Reindeer are like dogs in one
respect, they can be driven without either a whip or a bit, which are so
necessary for horses. But though they do not need the lashing of a whip;
they require to be gently poked with a long pole; and though they do not
need a bit, they require to be guided by a rein, fastened to their
heads; because they are not like dogs, so sensible as to be managed by
speaking.
But deer are very gentle, and are much more easily driven than horses. To
drive horses four-in-hand is very difficult, but to drive four reindeer
is not. The four deer are harnessed to the sledge all in a row, and a
rein is fastened to the head of one; when _he_ turns all the rest turn
with him. Usually they trot, but they _can_ gallop very fast, even down
hill. When they are out of breath the driver lets them stop, and then the
pretty creatures lie down, and cool their mouths with the snow lying on
the ground.
Men ride upon reindeer; not upon their _backs_, but on their _necks_; for
their backs are weak, while their necks are strong. Riders do not mount
reindeer as they do horses,--by resting on their backs, and then making a
spring, for that would hurt the poor animals; they lean on a long staff,
and by its help, spring on the deer's neck. But it is not easy, when
seated, to keep on; _you_ would certainly fall off, for all strangers do,
when they try to ride for the _first_ time. The Ostyak knows how to keep
his balance, by waving his long staff in the air, while the deer trots
briskly along. But these reindeer have some curious fancies; they will
not eat any food but such as they pluck themselves from the ground. It
would be of no use at the end of a long journey, to put them in a
stable;--they would not eat; they must be let loose to find their own
nourishment, which is a kind of moss that grows wild among the hills.
The reindeer, after he is dead, is of as much use to the Ostyak, as when
he was alive; for his skin is his master's clothing. Both men and women
dress alike, in a suit that covers them from head to foot; the seams are
well joined with thread, made of reindeer sinews, and the cold is kept
well out. The Ostyak lets no part of his body be uncovered but just his
face, and that would freeze, if he were not to rub it often with his
hands, covered over with hairy reindeer gloves. The women cover their
faces with thick veils. The Ostyak wears a great-coat made of the skin of
a white deer; this gives him the appearance of a great white bear. He
carries in his hand a bow taller than himself. His arrows are very long,
and made of wood, pointed with iron. With these he shoots the wild
animals. He is very glad when he can shoot a sable; because the Russian
emperor requires every Ostyak to give him yearly, as a tax, the skins of
two sables. The fur of the sable is very valuable, and is made into muffs
and tippets, and pelisses for the Russian nobles.
But without his snow-shoes, the Ostyak would not be able to pursue the
wild animals, for he would sink in the snow. These shoes are made of long
boards, turned up at the end like a boat, and fastened to the feet. What
a wild creature an Ostyak must look, when he is hunting his prey, wrapped
in his shaggy white coat,--his long dark hair floating in the wind,--his
enormous bow in his hand, and his enormous shoes on his feet!
What is the character of this wild man? Ask what is his religion, and
that will show you how foolish and fierce a creature he must be. The
Ostyak says, that he believes in ONE God who cannot be seen, but he does
not worship him _alone_; he worships other gods. And such gods! Dead men!
When a man dies, his relations make a wooden image of him, and worship it
for three years, and then bury it. But when a _priest_ dies, his wooden
image is worshipped _more_ than three years; sometimes it is _never_
buried; for the priests who are alive, encourage the people to go on
worshipping dead priests' images, that they may get the offerings which
are made to them.
But what do you think of men worshipping DEAD BEASTS? Yet this is what
the Ostyaks do. When they have killed a wolf or a bear, they stuff its
skin with hay, and gather round to mock it, to kick it, to spit upon it,
and then--they stick it up on its hind legs in a corner of the hut, and
WORSHIP it! Alas! how has Satan blinded their mind!
And in what manner do they worship the beasts? With screaming,--with
dancing,--with swinging their swords,--by making offerings of fur, of
silver and gold, and of reindeer. These reindeer they kill very cruelly,
by stabbing them in various parts of their bodies, to please the cruel
gods, or rather cruel devils whom they worship.
Has no one tried to convert the Ostyaks to God? The emperor of Russia
will not allow protestant missionaries to teach in Siberia. He wishes the
Ostyaks to belong to the Greek church, and he has tried to bribe them
with presents of cloth to be baptized; and a good many have been
baptized. But what good can such baptisms do to the soul?
The Russians do much harm to their subjects, by tempting them to buy
brandy. There is nothing which the Ostyaks are so eager to obtain, as
this dangerous drink. On one occasion, a traveller was surrounded by a
troop of Ostyaks, all begging for brandy, and when they could get none,
they brought a large heap of frozen fish, and laid it at the travellers
feet, saying, "Noble sir, we present you with this." They did get some
brandy in return. Then, hoping for more, they brought a great salmon, and
a sturgeon, as long as a man. They seemed ready to part with all they
had, for the sake of brandy.
Thus you see how much harm the Ostyaks have learned from their
acquaintance with the Russians. The chief good they have got, has been
learning to build houses; for once they lived only in tents.