Nijni-Novgorod. -- Hot Weather. -- The River Volga. -- Hundreds
of Steamers. -- Great Annual Fair. -- Peculiar Character of the
Trade. -- Motley Collection of Humanity. -- An Army of Beggars.
-- Rare and Precious Stones. -- The Famous Brick Tea. -- A Costly
Beverage. -- Sanitary Measures. -- Disgraceful Dance Halls. --
Fatal Beauty. -- A Sad History. -- Light-Fingered Gentry. --
Convicts. -- Facts About Siberia. -- Local Customs. -- Russian
Punishment.
A journey of about three hundred miles (or as the Russians state it,
four hundred and ten versts) in a northeasterly direction from
Moscow, by way of the historic town of Vladimir, famous for its
battles with the Tartars, brings us to Nijni-Novgorod,--that is,
Lower Novgorod, being so called to distinguish it from the famous
place of the same name located on the Volkhov, and known as Novgorod
the Great. It is older than Moscow, antedating it a century or more,
and is the capital of a province bearing the same name. The residence
of the governor of the district, the courts of law, and the citadel
are within the Kremlin, where there is also a fine monument in the
form of an obelisk eighty feet high, erected to the memory of Mininn
and Pojarski, the two patriots who liberated their country from the
Poles in 1612. This Kremlin, like that at Moscow, is situated on an
elevation overlooking the town and the broad valley of the Volga.
The site of the upper town, as the older portion of the place
situated about the Kremlin is called, is quite remarkable, being a
sort of overhanging bluff, commanding a level view as far as the eye
can reach over an undulating country, through which winds the noblest
river of Russia. The climate here is subject to great extremes of
heat and cold,--the mercury freezing, it is said, in winter, and
sometimes bursting in the heat of the summer sun. As we stood upon
this bluff enjoying the comprehensive view, the heat of the mid-day
hour and the power of the sun were quite tropical. Indeed, without
the partial shelter of an umbrella it would have been as insufferable
as mid-day exposure in Ceylon or Singapore. All animal life, so far
as possible, sought the shade; and the fine black horses attached to
the vehicle which had transported us from the plain below, though
driven at a quiet pace, were flecked with foam and panted with
distended nostrils. The thermometer on the shady side of the
governor's palace close at hand indicated 89 deg. Fahrenheit. To the
great extremes of overpowering cold and enervating heat some of the
apparent incongruities of the native character may doubtless be
attributed. For more than half the year the people are as it were
hermetically sealed up by the frost, and in the brief but intense
heat of the summer they are rendered inert and slothful by the effect
of tropical heat.
We were told that there was here six hundred years ago a very large
city, but that to-day the place cannot boast over forty-five
thousand fixed population. Thus the story of faded grandeur is
written all over the plains of northern Europe and Asia. By ascending
what is called Mininn's Tower, one of the finest panoramic views is
obtained which can well be conceived of. A vast alluvial plain is
spread out before the eye covered with fertile fields and thrifty
woods, through which from northwest to southeast flows the Volga like
a silver thread upon a verdant ground, extending from horizon to
horizon. On this river, which is the main artery of central Russia,
are seen scores of swift-moving steamers bound to Saratoff,
Astrakhan, and the Caspian Sea, fourteen hundred miles away, while a
forest of shipping is gathered about the shore of the lower town and
covering the Oka River, which here joins the Volga. From this outlook
the author counted over two hundred steamboats in sight at the same
time,--all side-wheelers and clipper-built, drawn hither by the
exigencies of the local trade contingent upon the period of the great
annual fair. The first of these steamers was built in the United
States and transported at great trouble and expense to these Russian
waters, and has served as the model of the hundreds now employed on
the river. The flat-boats which the steamers had towed from various
distant points, having been unloaded, were anchored in a shallow bend
of the river, where they covered an area fully a mile square. On many
of these boats entire families lived, it being their only home; and
wherever freight was to be transported thither they went: whether it
was towards the Ural Mountains or the Caspian Sea, it was all the
same to them.
The Volga has a course of over twenty-four hundred, and the Oka of
eight hundred and fifty miles. As the Missouri and Mississippi rivers
have together made St. Louis, so these Russian rivers have made
Nijni. This great mart lies at the very centre of the water
communication which joins the Caspian and the Black seas to the
Baltic and White seas, besides which it has direct railroad
connection with Moscow and thence with the entire east of Europe. The
Volga and its tributaries pour into its lap the wealth of the Ural
Mountains and that of the vast region of Siberia and Central Asia. It
thus becomes very apparent why and how this ancient city of
Nijni-Novgorod is the point of business contact between European
industry and Asiatic wealth.
The attraction which draws the traveller so far into the centre of
European Russia, lies in the novelty of the great annual fair held at
Nijni for a period of about eight weeks, and which gathers for the
time being some two hundred thousand people,--traders and
spectators,--who come from the most distant provinces and countries,
as well as from the region round about. A smaller and briefer fair is
held upon the ice of the rivers Volga and Oka in January, but is
comparatively of little account; it is called a horse-fair, being
chiefly devoted to trade in that animal. The merchandise accumulated
and offered for sale at the grand fair in August and September is
gathered principally from the two richest quarters of the globe. It
is of limitless variety, and in quality varying from the finest to
the coarsest. As an example of this, jewelry was observed of such
texture and fashion as would have graced a store on the Rue de la
Paix, offered for sale close beside the cheapest ornaments of tinsel
manufactured by the bushel-basketful at Birmingham and Manchester.
Choice old silver-ware was exposed side by side with iron saucepans,
tin-dippers, and cheap crockery utensils,--variety and incongruity,
gold and Brummagem everywhere in juxtaposition. There is an abundance
of iron and copper from the Urals, dried fish in tall piles from the
Caspian Sea, tea from China, cotton from India, silks and rugs from
Persia, heavy furs and sables from Siberia, wool in the raw state
from Cashmere, together with the varied products of the
trans-Caucasian provinces, even including wild horses in droves.
Fancy-goods from England as well as from Paris and Vienna, toys from
Nuremberg, ornaments of jade and lapis-lazuli from Kashgar, precious
stones from Ceylon, and gems from pearl-producing Penang. Variety,
indeed! Then what a conglomerate of odors permeated everything,
dominated by the all-pervading musk, boiled cabbage, coffee, tea, and
tanned leather! Everything seemed to loom up through an Oriental
haze, a mirage of fabulous merchandise. In the midst of the booths
and lanes there rose the tall, pointed spire of a mosque, which we
were told was the most northerly Mahometan temple extant. If any
business purpose actuates the visitor, let him keep his wits about
him, and above all remain cool; for it will require an effort not to
be confused by the ceaseless buzzing of this hive of human beings.
Sharpers are not wanting, but are here in force to take advantage of
every opportunity that offers. Many who come hither thrive solely by
dishonesty. It is a sort of thieves' paradise,--and Asiatic thieves
are by far the most expert operators known in either hemisphere. Most
of them are itinerants, having no booth, table, or fixed location,
but yet carrying conspicuously about them evidences of some special
line of trade, and evincing a desire to sell at remarkably low
prices,--all of which is a specious disguise under which to prosecute
their dishonest purposes.
The period of great differences in prices in localities wide apart
has, generally speaking, passed away, and everywhere the true value
of things is known. Circumstances may favor sellers and buyers by
turns, but intrinsic values are nearly fixed all over the world.
Nothing is especially cheap at this great Russo-Asiatic fair except
such articles as no one cares to purchase, though occasionally a
dealer who is particularly anxious to realize cash will make a
special sacrifice in the price demanded. The Tartar merchant from the
central provinces of Asia knows the true value of his goods, though
in exchange he pays large prices for Parisian and English luxuries.
Gems so abundant here can only be bought at a just approximation to
their value in the markets of the world; and unless one is willing to
encounter the risk of being grossly deceived in quality, and to lose
much time in bargaining, they had far better be purchased elsewhere.
All the tricks of trade are known and resorted to at such a
gathering. The merchant begins by demanding a price ridiculously
above the amount for which he is willing eventually to sell,--a true
and never wanting characteristic of Oriental trade. No dealer has a
fixed price at Nijni. The Asiatic enjoys dickering; it is to him the
life of his occupation, and adds zest if not profit to his business
transactions, and by long practice he acquires great adroitness in
its exercise.
The principal attraction to the traveller, far above that of any
articles which form the varied collection of goods displayed for
sale, is to observe the remarkable distinction of races and
nationalities that are here mingled together. Tartars, Persians,
Cossacks, Poles, Egyptians, Finns, Georgians, with many others, crowd
and jostle one another upon the narrow lanes and streets. Many of
these are in neat national costumes. We recall as we write a group of
Greeks in their picturesque attire, who formed a theatrical picture
by themselves; while others were in such a mass of filthy rags as to
cause one to step aside to avoid personal contact and its possible
consequences. Though familiar with the Spanish and Italian cities
where they much abound, the author has never before seen so many
beggars--professional beggars--congregated together. The variety of
features, of physical development, of dress, manners, customs, and
languages was infinite. It would be impossible to convey an idea of
the ceaseless Babel of noise which prevailed,--the cries designating
certain goods, the bartering going on all about one in shrill
voices, laughter mingled with sportive exclamations, and frequent
trivial disputes which filled the air. But there was no actual
quarrelling,--the Russian police are too vigilant, too much feared,
too summary for that; open violence is instantly suppressed, and woe
betide the culprit! Such is this unique fair, which presents one of
the rude and ancient forms of trade that is rapidly disappearing by
the introduction of railroads. The glory of Nijni-Novgorod is, we
suspect, already beginning to wane; but it would seem that the fair
still represents all the gayest features of the olden time, having
been held here annually since 1366, tradition pointing to even an
earlier date.
The site of the fair-grounds is triangular in shape, and lies between
the two rivers Volga and Oka, forming yearly a large and populous
temporary town, with numerous streets of booths, restaurants, small
shops, bazaars, tents, and even minor theatres, while the wharves of
the rivers are crowded with bales of rags, grain, hides, skins, casks
of wine, madder, and cotton. The aggregate value of the goods
disposed of at these yearly gatherings of traders is enormous, being
estimated as high as eighty millions of dollars! Centuries since, the
two extremes of western Europe and China used also to meet at Kazan
to exchange merchandise; but long ago this trade was transferred to
Nijni, which is now the only notable gathering-place of the sort in
Russia. We were told that the united length of the streets, lanes,
and alleys of the fair often reached a distance of thirty miles, and
this seemed to be rather an under than an over estimate. Some idea
may be formed of the great distances which traders pass over to meet
here, from the fact that there were seen Bucharians from the borders
of China as well as merchants from the north part of the Celestial
Empire. The former brought with them, in connection with other goods,
precious stones for sale. Some choice turquoises were observed in
their possession, such as one can purchase nowhere else in first
hands. Speaking of gems, there were also fine specimens of the native
product offered by those who dealt in jewelry,--among them some very
fine Alexandrites, a comparatively modern discovery from the Ural
mines, which were named after the Emperor Alexander I. The
Alexandrite is opaline, being dark green by daylight and ruby red by
artificial light at night, though strong artificial light will bring
out its peculiar properties at any time. In hardness it seems to be
of about the same texture as the emerald, and when a clear, flawless
specimen is obtained, it is valued almost as highly as that rare and
beautiful gem. The story told about the Alexandrite, and which we are
inclined to believe is true, is that only one "pocket," as it is
technically designated, was ever discovered, and that has long since
been exhausted, all subsequent search having utterly failed to
produce a single specimen. At first the value of this remarkable
stone was not realized, and it remained neglected upon the spot where
it was found, until a European geologist chanced to see and explain
its gem-like qualities, after which it became much sought for and
properly valued. Very few are to be found for sale in Europe, and
fewer in America. The author saw one of these stones at St.
Petersburg which was exquisitely cut and clear as a crystal, though
green in color, for which the sum of three thousand roubles was
demanded. As it weighed fifteen carats, this was at about the rate of
one hundred dollars per carat. At Nijni or St. Petersburg one must
pay nearly Paris and New York prices for real gems.
Specimens of other gems from the Urals though not abundant were still
in considerable variety,--not offered at the booths, but by
itinerants who came to our hotel, and displayed them in a somewhat
secret manner, being very particular to keep quite out of sight of
the crowd. One of these dealers took from his bosom a small flat
leather receptacle wherein he showed some fine emeralds, colored
diamonds, rubies, and topazes. Of the latter gem there were specimens
in green, blue, yellow, and white, most of them too poorly cut to
show their fine beauty and brilliancy to advantage. The Armenian who
exhibited this collection had also garnets of several distinct
colors, the finest of which was of a light cinnamon hue. He had also
tourmalines black as jet, and pink rubellites with sapphires as fine
as those from Ceylon. All these precious stones, he said, were from
the Ural mines. The same region furnishes also gold, silver, copper,
and platinum, the latter valuable product in larger quantities than
comes from any other part of the world. An emerald mine was
accidentally discovered in the Ural range near Ekaterinburg so late
as 1830. A peasant who was passing through a wood chanced to see an
emerald gleaming among the upturned roots of a fallen pine; and
further research showed that many precious gems of the same sort were
mingled with the surrounding soil. Such discoveries soon become
known. The peasant was enriched for life, but Government as usual in
such cases claimed the mine.
Thibet and North China merchants who come to Nijni occupy nearly six
months in travelling to and from their native districts. They bring
their famous brands of "brick tea," said to be the finest produced,
and of which the Russians partake so liberally, paying more than
double the price per pound that is usually charged for the best
brands that reach the American market. One who has travelled in Japan
is impressed with the idea that its people draw one half their
sustenance from tea-drinking, of which they partake many times each
day; but neither these Russians nor the Asiatics take the decoction
one quarter as strong as it is used with us. An idea prevails here
that the tea from China which comes by the overland route is much
superior to that which reaches Southern Europe and America by sea,
and the price is gauged accordingly; but even brick tea comes to
Nijni half the distance and more by water carriage, and if there is
any deteriorating effect traceable to that cause, it cannot be
exempt. There is a brand known as "yellow tea" in great favor
here,--a grade which we do not see in this country at all. It is of a
pale color when steeped and of delicate flavor, being used as an
after-dinner beverage in Russia, as we employ coffee. It is sold at
the fair in small fancy packages as put up in China, each containing
one pound of the leaves. Price six dollars for a package!
Where there is so large and promiscuous an assemblage of human
beings, sickness of an epidemic character would be sure to break out
were it not that a most rigid sanitary system is established and
enforced. This precaution is especially important, as personal
cleanliness is a virtue little known and less practised among
Russians and Asiatics. In the large cities the Russian takes his
weekly bath of steaming water, nearly parboiling his body; and that
must last him for seven days. The average citizen sleeps in his
clothes during the interim without change, satisfied with bathing his
face and hands in a pint or less of water daily. The Nijni
fair-grounds have open canals in various parts to afford immediate
access to water in case of fire, and also ample underground sewerage
formed by stone-lined drains which extend all over the place. These
drains are flushed several times daily during the season of the fair
by water pumped from the Volga.
The dance-halls, music-rooms, and places of general amusement are of
such a character as might naturally be anticipated, presenting
disgraceful features of frailty and vice scarcely surpassed in the
large European capitals. One spacious square of the grounds is
occupied by four large three-story houses, which are nothing less
than acknowledged dens of vice. From these houses, which are on the
four sides of the square, flags and streamers are all day gayly
flaunting, and fancy lanterns are grouped at night. Bands of
instrumental performers pour forth from their several piazzas noisy
refrains, while parading hither and thither upon the broad verandas,
or looking out from the windows, many a prematurely aged and saddened
face appears,--faces, alas! which assumed smiles and gayety of tone
cannot effectually disguise. The unfortunate girls who are attached
to these establishments are of varied nationalities. Many are
Russian, some are Poles, others are from far-off Cashmere and Nepaul;
even the Latin Quarter of Paris has its representatives here, as well
as the demi-monde of Vienna.
One dark-eyed, handsome, even refined appearing girl, who kept quite
by herself, was detected as being a quadroon. Observing that the
author was American, she acknowledged that she came from New Orleans.
The brief truthful history of this girl, who possessed all the fatal
beauty of her race, may be found instructive. She had been the
travelling companion of a heartless titled Englishman, who had
induced her to run away from her respectable Louisiana home, and had
finally deserted her at St. Petersburg after a year of travel in
various parts of the world and a considerable sojourn in India.
Without a guinea in her purse or the means of honestly earning money,
her fate seemed to be inevitable; and so she had drifted she hardly
knew how or where, until she was here in this maelstrom of vice,
Nijni-Novgorod. One must have possessed a heart of stone to be able
to look unmoved into the tearful eyes of this poor unhappy girl, who
had bought her bitter experience at such terrible cost. Quietly
closing her hand upon the gold that was offered her with some
earnest, well-meant advice, she said: "This shall be the nucleus of a
sum wherewith to return to my mother and my Louisiana home, or it
shall purchase that which will end for me all earthly misery!" Poor
Marie Fleur! We shall probably never know what fate has befallen her.
Interspersed about the lanes and streets were many gay eating and
drinking booths, cafes where gypsy dancers and singing girls appeared
in the evening. With the close of the day the business of the fair is
mostly laid aside, and each nationality amuses itself after its
native fashion. Rude musical instruments are brought forth, strange
and not inharmonious airs fall upon the ear, supplemented here and
there by songs the words of which are utterly unintelligible except
to a small circle of participants. The whole scene forms a motley
picture, as party-colored as Harlequin's costume, while the whole is
shadowed by the ever-present, vigilant Russian police. Smoking is not
permitted in the streets or among the booths; to light a match even
subjects one to a fine, such is the great fear of fire; but still the
unmistakable fumes of tobacco which permeated the atmosphere showed
that within the walls of their own apartments smokers were freely
indulging in their wonted habit. The governor's business residence
during the fair is very near its centre. The lower portion for the
time being is transferred into a grand bazaar, for the sale of the
lighter and more choice fancy articles, including European
manufactured goods. There is here also a large restaurant where a
good dinner may be had at a reasonable price, the bill of fare
embracing the peculiar dishes of many different nationalities,--and
though others did, the author did not partake of Tartar horse-flesh.
A boulevard extends from behind the governor's house towards the
cathedral and an Armenian church. The shops along this thoroughfare
are principally occupied by goldsmiths and dealers in silver-ware.
Some apparently very ancient examples of the latter would have
delighted the eye of a curio hunter; they were in the form of clasps,
mugs, drinking-horns, and spoons of quaint designs, no two alike,
affording an endless variety from which to choose.
We were told of some curious doings of the light-fingered gentry who
are naturally attracted to the fair, and who drive a very successful
business during the few weeks of its continuance, provided they be
not detected and locked up. These rogues are not confined to any one
nationality, but are composed of immigrants from far and near. They
seem equally adroit however, whether Asiatics or Europeans. One was
arrested during the late season at Nijni upon whose person eleven
purses and porte-monnaies were found as the product of a single day's
operation. The rascal was a Polish Jew, "childlike and bland." He was
apparently a pedler, dealing in tapes and shoestrings. Some London
thieves the year before the last, having heard of the great Russian
fair which continued so many weeks, drawing together purchasers from
many lands, who came with well-lined pocket-books, accordingly
resolved to invade Nijni. They came, they saw, they conquered; but it
was a very brief triumph. The Asiatic thieves "spotted" the English
rogues at sight, but let them operate until they had possessed
themselves of ample booty, while the local rogues remained quiescent
and watched the fun. Then the Eastern experts picked their pockets of
every farthing they had stolen; having done which they adroitly drew
the attention of the police to them. The cockneys were compelled to
leave the place instantly, and to beg their way to an English port
where they sadly embarked for home, wiser if not richer than when
they resolved to "raid" the great Oriental fair.
The numbers of persons arriving during the fair is so great as to
exhaust all reasonable means of comfortable lodgement, and where the
great mass sleep is generally considered to be a mystery; yet a
stroll about the town at day-break will solve it. Rolled up in their
rags, thousands drop down to rest like dogs upon the ground wherever
fatigue overtakes them. Other thousands sleep behind their stalls and
booths upon the softest place they can find. Open sheds are utilized
by hundreds, who lie there upon the floor packed like herring under a
temporary roof. It may be safely stated that not one person in fifty
who attends the fair removes his clothing from his body while he is
there. Even the weekly bath must be given up here, unless it consists
of a brief plunge into the Volga.
On the route to Nijni from Moscow, at a station on the railway line,
a bevy of convicts was seen on their way to Siberia. They represented
all ages, from the lad of fifteen to the decrepit and gray-haired old
man of sixty or seventy. Condemned people are now conveyed as far on
their way as possible by rail, and then begin their long journey upon
foot towards the region which according to popular belief rarely
fails to become their grave in a few brief years. Some of these
men--there were no women among them--appeared to us as though society
were fortunate to be rid of them, and as if they very likely deserved
the fate which awaited them, be it never so severe. There were
others, however, if the human countenance may be trusted, who seemed
to merit a better fate. Some of them had grossly outraged the laws,
and some few were political prisoners. But be their condemnation
upon what ground it may, when once started upon this journey they
left all hope behind. The prisoners whom we saw did not appear to be
guarded with much strictness. They were permitted to walk about
freely within certain lines; still, military espionage is so thorough
and complete that any attempt to escape would surely cost the
prisoner his life. None of these prisoners were manacled or confined
by bonds of any sort; and though we watched them specially, no
harshness was exhibited by either soldiers or officers towards them.
The prisoners seemed to accept the position, and the soldiers to be
only performing routine duty. Feeling more than ordinary interest in
the subject, we were led to seek for information touching this penal
servitude.
We were told by unprejudiced persons that many of the current stories
about Siberia were pure fiction, and that not a few of the attributed
terrors relating to that district were without truth. To sober,
honest, industrious enterprise it was not only a very habitable but
even desirable locality, undoubtedly with some drawbacks; but there
is no limit to its mineral wealth and other possibilities. In spite
of its climate, the soil under proper culture is represented to be
prodigiously fertile. Our principal informant had been there several
times, and had mercantile interests in the country: he was not of
Russian but German birth. It seems that many persons go to Siberia
voluntarily every year, some following closely in the track of each
lot of prisoners despatched thither. If what we heard and have reason
to believe is really true, Siberia will eventually prove to Russia
what Australia and Van Diemen's Land have to England.
The Russian travels with all his toilet and sleeping necessaries with
him. Towels, soap, pillow, and blanket form a part of his regular
outfit when he travels by rail or otherwise at night. Though one pays
for sleeping-car accommodations, only reclining seats are furnished,
and not even a pitcher of water or a towel can be found inside of the
cars. This seemed to be the more surprising because of the excellence
of the road-bed, the remarkable perfection of the rolling stock, and
the manifest desire upon all hands, so far as the officials were
concerned, to render the passengers as comfortable as possible.
Anything like refreshing slumber was out of the question in a half
upright position, and after a night passed in coquetting with sleep,
at six or seven o'clock in the morning the cars stopped at a
way-station for twenty-five minutes, both in coming from Moscow to
Nijni and in returning, the journey both ways being made by the
night-express. On the platform of this station a line of peasant
women stand behind a series of basins placed temporarily upon a long
bench. One of these women pours a small stream of water from a
pitcher upon the traveller's hands, and he is thus enabled to make a
partial toilet, wiping his face upon a very suspicious-looking towel,
also furnished by the woman who supplies the water. For this service
she expects ten kopecks, the smallest current silver coin. However,
water upon the face and temples even in limited quantity, after a
long dusty night-ride in the cars, is grateful and refreshing,
incomplete though the ablution may seem, and one felt duly thankful.
It was quite as ample accommodation in that line as the average
Russian citizen required.
Before closing this chapter, and apropos of the subject of Siberia,
let us say a few words more. It should be remembered as regards the
severity of punishment for crime in Russia, and particularly as to
banishment to Siberia, that the sentence of death is now rarely
inflicted in this country. Persons who are condemned to expiate their
crimes by deportation to this penal resort, would in other European
countries be publicly executed. Nearly all other nations punish
undoubted treason with death. Russia inflicts only banishment, where
the convicted party has at least air and light, his punishment being
also mitigated by obedience and good behavior. This is paradise
compared to Austrian, Spanish, German, and Italian prisons, where the
wretched dungeon existence is only a living death. It is a fact that
of late years, and especially since the accession of Alexander III.
to the throne, so mild has the punishment of banishment to Siberia
come to be considered that it has lost its terror to the average
culprit. We were assured that not one third of the convicts sent
thither for a limited term elect to return to their former homes, but
end by becoming free settlers in the country, and responsible
citizens.