practice of attacking, and of defending themselves, creates in them an
inflexible courage that delights in perpetual combats, and glories in a
contempt of life. Superstition lends its aid to ennoble in their eyes
this thirst of blood, by imposing a law that obliges them to conquer or
to die. The more important is the cause that calls them to arms, the
more greedy are they of death. Neither the bravery, nor the number of
their adversaries, can at all intimidate them: it is then they swear
_to destroy the sun_. They discharge this terrible oath by cutting the
throats of their wives and children, burning all their possessions,
and rushing madly into the midst of their enemies. The combat can
only terminate by the total destruction of one of the parties. The
vanquished never seek their safety in flight; honour forbids it; and
not a Koriac will survive the slaughter of his countrymen.
The vicinity of the Russian settlements has hitherto produced no
change in the mode of life of the resident Koriacs. Their commercial
intercourse with the Russians, only renders them susceptible to the
attraction of wealth, and desirous of plunder. Insensible to the
advantages of a more polished life, they seem to feel a repugnance
to civilization, and to consider their own manners and customs as
absolutely perfect[25].
Their regular occupation is hunting and fishing; but every season will
not permit them to follow it. During these intervals, shut up in their
profound habitations, they sleep, smoke, and get drunk. Thoughtless of
the future, without regret for the past, they come not out of their
yourts till the most urgent necessity compels them. These yourts are
larger than those of the northern Kamtschadales, but are distributed
nearly in the same manner. I am not sure whether their filthiness be
not still more disgusting: as there is neither door, nor _joupan_, or
vent-hole, the smoke must be insufferable.
These people, enemies to industry, live like the Kamtschadales upon
dried fish, and the flesh and fat of the whale, and sea wolf[26].
The whale is commonly eaten raw, and the sea wolf dried and cooked
in the same manner as their fish, except the sinews, the marrow, the
brain, and now and then a slice of the flesh, which they devour raw
with extreme avidity. Rein deer is their favourite dish. Vegetables
also form a part of their food: they gather in autumn various sorts
of berries, of a part of which they make themselves a refreshing
beverage[27], and the rest is bruised to powder, and kneaded with the
oil of the whale, or sea wolf. This paste, or sweetmeat, is called
_toltchoukha_; it is held in high esteem in this country, but nothing
is to my taste more disagreeable.
Their passion for strong liquors, increased by the dearness of
brandy, and the difficulty of procuring it on account of their extreme
distance, has led them to invent a drink, equally potent, which they
extract from a red mushroom, known in Russia as a strong poison by
the name of _moukhamorr_[28]. They put it in a vessel with certain
fruits, and it has scarcely time to clarify when their friends are
invited to partake of it. A noble emulation inflames the guests, and
there is a contest of who is best able to disburden the master of the
house of his nectar. The entertainment lasts for one, two, or three
days, till the beverage is exhausted. Frequently, that they may not
fail of being tipsy, they eat the raw mushroom at the same time. It is
astonishing that there are not more examples of the fatal effects of
this intemperance. I have seen however some amateurs made seriously
ill, and recovered with difficulty; but experience does not correct
them, and upon the first occasion that offers, they return to their
brutish practice. It is not from absolute sensuality, it is not from
the pleasure of drinking a liquor, that by its flavour creates an
irresistible craving for more; they seek merely in these orgies a state
of oblivion, of stupefaction, of total brutishness, a cessation of
existence, if I may so call it, which constitutes their only enjoyment,
and supreme felicity.
The features of the majority of the Koriacs are not Asiatic, and they
might be considered as Europeans, but for their low stature, their
ill shape, and the colour of their skin. The other Koriacs have the
same characteristic outlines as the Kamtschadales; among the women
particularly, there are very few who have not sunk eyes, flat noses,
and prominent cheeks. The men are almost entirely beardless, and have
short hair. The hair of the women is very much neglected; it commonly
flows upon their shoulders, though there are some who wear it in tufts,
or wrapt up in an handkerchief. Their dress I have already described.
The women carry their children in a sort of cradle, the form of which
I thought singular. It is a kind of nest or basket arched over, in
which the infant is placed in a sitting posture, and sheltered from the
weather.
Among their strange customs I shall mention the probation to
which a young man subjects himself when he is desirous of marrying.
As soon as he has fixed his choice, he waits upon the relations of
his mistress, and offers to drudge for them, as the phrase is. The
young lady is immediately enveloped in a multiplicity of garments,
which conceal her to such a degree, that the face itself is scarcely
visible. She is not left alone for a single instant; her mother, and
a number of old matrons accompany her wherever she goes sleep with
her, and do not lose her from their sight upon any pretext whatever.
The aim of the lover, the point of happiness to which all his cares
tend, is to touch her naked body, the only way by which he can obtain
her. In the mean time he executes with zeal and submission all the
functions that the relations impose on him. Become as it were the
slave of the family, he is employed in all the domestic labours, to
cut wood, fetch water, provide ice, &c. Love, and the presence of
his intended, inspire him with courage. If he relax, a single look,
however indifferent, is sufficient to make him forget the fatigues
and drudgery of his servitude. The hope of abridging its duration
influences all his actions. His eye is invariably fixed on the idol
of his heart, he watches her motions, follows her steps, and intrudes
himself incessantly in her way. But how deceive the Argus eyes of the
duennas that surrounded her! It is a continual contest of vigilance
against cunning; each party acts with equal zeal and perseverance. From
such assiduities, from the agitation of the lover, and the precautions
that are taken to counteract his manœuvres, one would suppose that he
was about to carry off some extraordinary beauty. Who would imagine
that the object of the thoughts and desires of this whining Koriac, was
ugliness itself, and that he aspired to no other reward for so many
exertions, than to touch a callous, yellow, greasy skin? In his leisure
moments, at liberty to see and approach his mistress, he endeavours
to merit her affection by some sly attempt to obtain a touch; but the
number and thickness of her garments are an invincible barrier. Enraged
at so many obstacles, he tears and pulls off this teazing dress. Woe
betide him if he be surprised in his rash attack! The relations, the
inexorable spies, dart upon him, and force him to relinquish his
prize. It is commonly by the eloquence of the foot, or a stick, that
they entreat him to withdraw, and find some better opportunity. If he
resist, he is dragged by the hair, or the nails of these old hags are
imprinted on his face. If he be disheartened, or murmurs at this cruel
treatment, he is instantly dismissed, and forfeits for ever all claim
to the alliance, which is considered as the most signal disgrace that
can be inflicted on a Koriac lover. But difficulties only render his
desires more vehement. Far from complaining, far from desponding at
these rigorous proceedings, he considers himself as the more worthy
of the felicity he has in view. He rejoices, he glories in all the
tribulations he experiences during his amorous and painful servitude.
It is frequently not till after the expiration of two or three years,
more or less, that he obtains his end. Elate with his victory, he flies
to inform the relations of his success. The witnesses are summoned,
and the young lady interrogated[29]. Her confession is necessary, as
well as some proof that she was taken by surprise, and made fruitless
efforts to defend herself. Her hand is then bestowed on the conqueror,
but he is obliged still to wait till it is seen whether she can
reconcile herself to living with him. From this moment, freed from his
labours, he makes his court without restraint to his future wife, who
is not perhaps sorry to find herself delivered from her cumbersome
attire. This second stage of courtship is seldom very long; the damsel,
in the presence of the family, soon accords her consent, and nothing
more is requisite to give him all the claims of a husband. The nuptial
ceremony and feast consist merely in assembling the relations of the
parties, who are eager to get drunk in imitation of the new married
couple. A plurality of wives is not allowed among the Koriacs; I have
seen instances however of its being practiced without scruple.
Their funeral rights have a striking similarity to the ancient
institutions of paganism, still observed by various uncivilized people
of the new hemisphere. When a Koriac dies, his relations and neighbours
assemble to pay him their last respects. They erect a funeral pile,
upon which they place a portion of the wealth of the deceased, and a
stock of provisions, consisting of rein deer, fish, brandy, in short
whatever they conceive he will want for his great journey, and to keep
him from starving in the other world. If it be a wandering Koriac, his
deer conduct him to the pile; if a resident Koriac, he is drawn by his
dogs, or carried by his relations. The body is exhibited, clothed in
his best attire, and lying in a kind of coffin. There it receives the
adieux of the attendants, who, with torches in their hands, consider
it as an honour speedily to reduce their relation or friend to ashes.
They feel only the regret of a short absence, and not of an eternal
separation. They wear no mourning, and the funeral pomp terminates
in a scene of intemperance, where the fumes of their liquor and
tobacco gradually efface the remembrance of death. After a few months
widowhood, the women are permitted to marry again.
The superstitious practices observed at their funerals, and their
transient grief at the loss of persons the most dear to them, are
in my opinion an evident proof of their indifference to life, the
brevity of which neither astonishes nor afflicts them. Their religious
system deadens them apparently to the consoling hope of a protracted
existence. Death is in their eyes but the passage to another life;
and in quitting the world, they do not imagine that their pleasures
terminate, but that other enjoyments are reserved for them. This
flattering prejudice, which I mentioned in my conversation with
Oumiavin, sufficiently accounts for his religious perplexities, and
the ferocious courage of his countrymen. But their absurd dogmas are
entitled to a more particular relation, though the worship upon which
they are founded is very simple, and what is marvellous in it by no
means attractive. The following account contains the whole theogony of
the Koriacs[30].
They acknowledge a supreme being, the creator of all things. He
inhabits the sun, whose burning orb they consider as the throne or
palace of the lord of nature, whom they probably confound with that
celestial fire, which is supposed to be his dwelling. I am led to
believe this, as they neither fear, nor worship him. They address no
prayer to him: goodness, they say, is his essence; all the good that
exists in the world proceeds from him; and it is impossible he should
do an injury. May we not conclude from this statement, that the view
of the constant and universal benefits conferred by this king of the
celestial orbs which gives life, action, and power to all things
terrestrial, while it taught them to consider this luminary of the
world as their tutelary divinity, imbued them with the blind confidence
I have described?
The principle of evil they consider as a malignant spirit, who
divides with the sovereignly good being the empire of nature[31]. Their
power is equal. As the one is intent on the happiness of mankind, the
other endeavours to render them unhappy. Diseases, tempests, famine,
calamities of every kind, are his work, and the instruments of his
vengeance. It is to pacify his wrath, that they sacrifice their
personal interest, and have recourse to devotion. Their homage is
dictated merely by the terror with which this menacing deity fills
every heart, and consists of expiatory sacrifices. They offer to him
various animals, that have just began to exist, rein deer, dogs[32],
the first fruits of their hunting and fishing, and whatever they
possess that is most valuable. Their devotional exercises consist of
supplications and thanksgivings. There is no temple, no sanctuary set
apart for his votaries. This fantastic god is equally worshipped in
all places, and hears the Koriac who prays alone to him in the desert,
as well as the assembled family, who conceive that they render him
propitious by piously getting drunk in their yourt; for drunkness is
become with these people a religious practice, and the basis of all
their solemnities.
This demon, this formidable spirit, is doubtless the same being as
the Koutka of the Kamtschadales, whose ministers and interpreters the
chamans consider themselves. Here, as in the peninsula, the mystic
language of these magicians works upon the credulity, and obtains the
veneration of the multitude. They exercise physic and surgery with
equal success. These exclusive functions, which are supposed to be
aided by inspiration rather than the light of experience, procures them
an unbounded power. They are sent for from all parts of the country,
and testimonies of gratitude heaped upon them before-hand. They demand
with haughtiness whatever they please, and consider every thing that is
given them as a tribute. It is upon the pretext of making an acceptable
offering to the god, whose organ they are, that they appropriate to
themselves whatever the inhabitants possess, that is most costly and
beautiful. It is not necessary to suppose that these imposters gull
their votaries by a parade of virtue, by rigid observances, and a more
scrupulous life; on the contrary, they surpass them in their vices, and
fall short of them in sobriety. On the eve of their magic ceremonies,
they pretend indeed to fast all the day, but they make up for this
abstinence at night by a profusion of the moukamorr, the intoxicating
poison I have described, which they eat and drink to satiety. This
preparatory intoxication they consider as a duty. It is probable that
they feel its effects the next day, and that they derive from it an
elevation of spirits that contributes to derange their minds, and give
them the necessary strength to go through their extravagant transports.
The idiom of the Koriacs has no affinity to that of the Kamtschadales;
their pronunciation is more shrill, and slower, but it is less painful,
and has not those uncommon sounds, those hissings, as difficult to be
uttered as they are to be written.
I have still to give an account of the wandering Koriacs; but not
satisfied with the information I have obtained upon the subject, I
shall wait till my arrival at the house of Oumiavin’s brother, where I
shall have an opportunity of ascertaining its truth, by comparing it
with the objects that will be immediately before my eyes.
From the time of my arrival at Ingiga, M. Gaguen, in compliance
with my entreaties, had been employed upon the means of hastening my
departure as much as possible. Had it depended on myself, I should not
have stopped more than twenty-four hours; but unfortunately my dogs
were fatigued, and there were very few to be procured throughout the
whole town, and these not in the best condition[33]. It was therefore
proposed to me to take rein deer, which I accepted the more readily,
as I hoped to travel the quicker, and as I had long been desirous
of trying this mode of conveyance. I was not left in ignorance of
the inconvenience attending it. I had to expect greater risks, more
fatigue, and less repose; but my impatience made me regardless of every
thing but the possibility of proceeding, and the pleasure of being able
to judge for myself of the speed of these animals.
To satisfy my impatience, and enable me to continue my journey without
interruptions, M. Gaguen resolved to concert with the chiefs of the
wandering Koriacs that were in the neighbourhood, and accordingly sent
to invite them to his house. Two days after, twelve of these princes
arrived, and a number of other Koriacs, who had received similar
invitations.
After the usual compliments[34], he presented me to the assembly,
explaining to them, in a few words, by an interpreter, who I was, the
importance of my embassy, and the necessity in which I stood of their
assistance. This short explanation excited a general murmur. It was in
vain M. Gaguen alledged the absolute orders of government respecting
me; their clamours increased to such a degree, that it was impossible
to be heard, or to learn the cause of their discontent. At last, amidst
this confused noise, it was understood that they complained of all the
labour of the averages falling upon them, while the fixed Koriacs were
exempt from any share in it. What claim had they to this over bearing
immunity? By what privilege, like idle drones, should they be allowed
to vegetate in their yourts? Why not, like them, be subjected to the
conveyance of travellers? These remonstrances, justly founded, but
peevishly urged, began to alarm me respecting the success of my demand,
when an aged prince rose up: “Is this,” cried he, “the fit time to make
our complaints? If our zeal be abused, is this stranger responsible
for it? Has he the less claim to our good offices? He shall have my
assistance, and I will conduct him as far as he shall think necessary.
Consent only to escort him to my house. There are surely some among you
who will render him this trifling service.”
Upon this short address, shame was visible in the countenance of the
whole assembly, and the most mutinous were silent. After a moment’s
pause, every one attempted to exculpate himself from the reproach
which he feared he had merited, and there was an emulation who should
have the preference of conducting the stranger and his attendants to
the _Stoudénaïa-reka_, or cold river, upon the border of which lived
the obliging Koriac, who had voluntarily proffered his services.
Every difficulty being thus removed, my departure was fixed for 5
April, and the whole company engaged to attend my orders on that
day. The old prince, who had so generously pleaded my cause, was the
first to withdraw from my thanks, upon the pretext of having various
preparations to make before my arrival. How great was my joy to learn,
that the person to whom I owed this change of disposition in my favour,
was the brother of Oumiavin, whose acquaintance I had so ardently
desired!
From this instant, M. Gaguen put every thing in motion for my
departure. A number of small wheaten loaves were made under his
immediate inspection, and a supply of rye biscuit. A variety of
eatables, reserved for his own use, was, in spite of my remonstrances,
packed up with my baggage. He added also several presents, which I was
obliged to accept, from the polite and friendly manner in which they
were offered. In short, I know not how to enumerate all his kindnesses
to me. Every hour, during my stay with him, was marked by an attention
to my wishes and an endeavour to oblige. His cares contributed equally
with my repose to re-establish my health, which had been in no very
enviable state since the cold I had caught upon leaving Poustaretsk.
Prepared to depart 5 April, as had been agreed, how great was my
surprise to see none of my conductors arrive! Various expresses were
sent off; but the whole day passed before we had any intelligence. It
was night when they made their appearance, each alledging that the
delay had been unavoidable.
The next day there was a new obstacle. It was Sunday, and the timorous
consciences of my soldiers made them averse to travelling. Was it
necessary to attend to this scruple, or rather this terror? for it
was superstition more than devotion; it was not the sacredness of the
day that influenced them, but the idea that they should meet with
some misfortune. Notwithstanding the care I took to attend a Russian
mass with them, they were not to be prevailed on to set out. After
various intreaties to no purpose, I was obliged to stay and dine with
M. Gaguen, who politely congratulated himself upon the delay. Finding,
however, that it deprived me of all enjoyment, he proposed to cure my
people of their chimerical fears. I defied him, and he accepted my
challenge. Immediately he ordered brandy to be profusely dealt out to
all my attendants, Russians as well as Koriacs. Imperceptibly their
heads were warmed, and gaiety made them forgetful of the pretended
danger. The most reluctant were the first to assist in harnessing the
deer. It was no sooner said than done, and my sledges were ready in an
instant.
During this interval, a scene took place that diverted me extremely.
Oumiavin, out of compliment to me, became completely fuddled. The
vivacity of his regrets led him to practice every species of absurdity,
which he called taking leave of me. He went out, came in again,
officiously assisted in every thing. My sledge was no sooner ready than
he must lift it, to judge of its weight; but unable to keep himself
steady, this good Koriac fell, and in falling, broke the point of my
sabre. His grief, at the sight of this trifling accident, was truly
poignant. He precipitated himself at my feet, which he embraced, and
washed with his tears, conjuring me not to depart till I had forgiven
him. I attempted to raise him, and assured him of my friendship; but he
persisted in his posture, and his tears continued to flow. It was not
till half an hour, that, by means of entreaties and kindnesses, I was
able to pacify him.
I came out of the town on foot, escorted by almost all the
inhabitants, who were desirous, they said, of doing honour to the only
Frenchman that had ever visited them. M. Gaguen, and the officers of
the garrison, insisted upon conducting me to the gates, where, having
repeated my thanks for their civilities, we separated.
Of the four soldiers who composed my suite when I left Kaminoi,
two only remained with me, Golikoff and Nedarezoff; I had left the
others at Ingiga, which was the place of their residence. Upon the
recommendation however of M. Gaguen, I accepted the services of a young
merchant, who asked leave to accompany me as far as Okotsk. During my
abode at Ingiga, I had had frequent opportunities of conversing with
him, and knowing the value of his society, and considered myself as
fortunate in meeting with so agreeable a companion.
It was to no purpose that I had prepared to guide my own sledge; every
one opposed me, from the fear that the want of knowledge and skill
as to my new steeds, might occasion me some fatal accident; they had
beside been expressly injoined not to permit me, during the first day
at least. When I came to my vehicle, I found my guide already seated in
front, and I took my place, without paying any attention to him; but
upon his looking round, I recognized in his features a Koriac prince,
named _Eviava_. He was eager to express his joy in having the honour to
conduct me, and then prepared to join the file.
I have long owed the reader a description of a Koriac sledge, and
am now able to satisfy his curiosity. The picture, I hope, will be
sufficiently interesting to obtain his pardon for the delay.