PART I. CONTINUED.

IN my way from Kalmykowa, on the 19th of Auguſt, 1769, to the next ſtation on the line, I met with a number of tarantulas, which every Coſſack was ac⯑quainted with, and one and all declared, that their bite was harmleſs. Not many miles diſtant, on a tract of the high ſhore of the river Jaik, before we reached the heights of the Inderſkoian mountains, which ex⯑tend themſelves to the river, we ſaw, almoſt every [4] where, large flocks of antelopes feeding, which, as the wind was in our faces, did not fly before us, the ſight of this animal being imperfect, or rendered obſcure, by four ſpungy excreſcencies on the eye; nature, how⯑ever, has favoured them in the organs of ſmell, and made them much ſuperior to other animals in it's quick⯑neſs and extent, for they will ſcent a man or animal, if the wind is favourable, at two or three miles diſtance. Yet it is wonderful that the antelopes, which ſeem to be conſtructed for ſwift running, having wind-pipes almoſt two inches in diameter, large lungs and wide ſkinny noſtrils, ſhould be ſoon out of breath, more ſo than any other animal. This I have often obſerved in tame ones, which have neither been ſcared or alarmed. The Inderſkoian mountains, which are full of ſtucco, are always crowded with them, till the Kirgueſe make their appearance, who hunt them inceſſantly. This ani⯑mal is very fond of the ſmall, white wormwood, which grows here in abundance. They were, now, ſo nu⯑merous, that the little eſcort, which attended me, ſhot above twelve of different ages. We ſaw here, alſo, in quantities, a peculiar ſpecies of uncommonly beautiful lizards, running about in the ſun, and a number of race-hares and marmots.

In a ſalt diſtrict, ſituated upon the heights of Tſchornoijar, about 110 miles from the Wolga, where there is not only a ſtrong ſalt-lake, but, alſo, ſtone-ſalt; and, again, about thirty miles eaſt of it, are two [5] cleſts in the mountains, which the Kalmucks hold as ſacred, as do the Kirgueſe the Jlezkian mountain, and offer to them, as vows, harneſs, arms and other things, and give this fictitious ſtory as a reaſon for their ſo do⯑ing;— that their Delai-Lama had once paſſed a night on one and dined upon the other. In the cleft of one is ſaid to be ſome water, and the Kalmucks ſay, that one of their countrymen, having once fallen into it, came out again in the Wolga, ſafe and unhurt.

The Inderſkoi mountains are ſo full of ſalt, that the Coſſacks, who ſet out in ſpring, to fetch ſalt from this place, take as much freſh-water with them as they think they ſhall have occaſion for, there being no freſh-water ſprings.

I no ſooner reached the top of this mountain, than I was ſtruck with a large lake, reſembling an extenſive plain, glittering with ſnow and encompaſſed with heights, which, on a calculation I made, is above the level of the river Jaik. This lake may be juſtly called a wonder of nature. It lies in a ſtraight line ſcarcely ſeven miles from the Jaik, about 125 miles ſouth from Jaizkoi-Gorodok. I could not determine it's extent, but the Coſſacks ſay it is ſixty miles round; it is, ap⯑parently, about ten miles in circumference. It wears a round form and has many bays. The water is not very deep, for I rode into it near a quarter of mile and was not up to the girths of my ſaddle. The water of [6] this lake is ſo ſaturated with ſalt, that large cubic grains are conſtantly forming upon the ſhore, when not prevented by moiſt weather, and it's borders ſeem to be ſowed with ſalt. From the conſtant evaporation of this lake, the land, all round, is covered with a cruſt of ſalt, ſeven inches thick. This cruſt is as hard as ſtone, of a pure white, and, when broke, ex⯑hibits an extraordinary chryſtalization in irregular bo⯑dies. Underneath this cruſt, lies a gravelly, grey and looſe ſalt, which may be eaſily pierced. I ran a Coſ⯑ſack lance, which was ten feet long, down into it, without finding any bottom; of courſe, to what depth this ſalt lies, cannot be determined. This is the ſalt which the Coſſacks gather, being ſmall and fit for uſe, loading their little waggons in the lake itſelf. They waſh it with ſalt-water, on the ſpot, till it loſes it grey colour. I dare not venture a ſuppoſition reſpecting the formation of this looſe ſalt. I muſt alſo confeſs my ignorance about the origin of that fine, white cubic ſalt, called, by the Coſſacks, Tamoſa Kaja Sol. It reſembles ſmall and large hail, promiſcouſly ſcattered on the muddy ſhore and touching the ground only in one point. The largeſt cubes were about the ſize of a ſmall walnut, the chief no larger than peas and many not ſo large as the ſmalleſt hail. Their whiteneſs is dazzling to the eye and they are ſo ſolid, that it was with difficulty I could ſqueeze them between my thumb and finger. Their ſubſtance ſeems to be a ſort of ala⯑baſter-like ſtone, the parts of which are almoſt inviſible [7] with a magnifying glaſs. I could not diſcover any chryſtalline configuration. This ſalt keeps itſelf very dry, and, notwithſtanding it's ſoft conſiſtency, diſſolves ſlower in water than ſtone-ſalt. If you pour into the ſalt-water a diſſolved alkali, it milks very much, but, if ſuffered to ſteam away, by boiling, without any mixture, it has the appearance and quality of kitchen-ſalt, though adhering much, in cruſts, about the veſſel in which it is boiled. This generation of cubic-ſalt, is only found after a long drowth accompanied by ſtorms. When I was at the lake, on the 20th of Auguſt, it was plentifully to be met with, but on my return to it, in September, ſome tempeſtuous rains had ſwept it quite away. From theſe circumſtances it may be con⯑cluded, that the cubic pieces of ſalt, are formed by ſome attractive power from the particles of ſalt evapo⯑rated from the lake.

This mountain is full of a variety of minerals, coals, ſtucco, allum, marcaſites, belemnites, oyſter-ſhells, &c. The Coſſacks pick up theſe ſhells and prepare them as a medicine for children, againſt acidities, pouring water into the ſhell and ſcraping off ſome of it's inſide ſubſtance with a knife. They ſup⯑poſe, that where a flaſh lightning falls, ſuch a ſhell will grow in the ſpace of three years after. The Kal⯑mucks fetch, alſo, from this place, a kind of deep-red marle, in duſt, of which there are whole hills on this [8] mountain, and with which they paint their tent-poles red.

Of the vegetable kingdom, this mountain boaſts of the buſhy orach, (Atriplex Glauca); the pretty ſalt-wort, (Salicornia Arabica); and, another ſpecies of this plant, not yet diſcovered by botaniſts, (Salicornia Strobilacea). The latter grows on the low and moiſt part of the borders of the ſalt-lake, and both the for⯑mer on the higher. Beſides theſe, the thorny glaſs-wort and (Salſola arbuſcula): alſo, the thrift (Statice Suffruticoſa).

As to the animal kingdom, I could have gathered plenty of inſects from the flat borders of the lake, brought here by ſtorms on it's wide waters, waſhed a⯑ſhore dead, and perfectly preſerved by the ſalt-water. Among them were ſeveral rare ſpecies, peculiar to the hotter parts of Aſia, the large, wandering graſs-hop⯑per, a ſmaller ſpecies (Gryllus Italicus), the ſcorpion-ſpider (Phalangium Araneoides), and many more.

On the 21ſt of Auguſt I continued my journey along the line to the next ſtation, and met, in my way, with a plant which the Kalmucks drink as tea. At Kula⯑gina-Gorodok, a little fort, on an arm of the Jaik, more ſpacious indeed than the fort Kalmykowa, but not better built, though it has a church and a garriſon of Kalmuck and Tartar ſoldiers, under an ataman, [9] who commands the whole line, but who is, himſelf, ſubordinate to the commander of Gurjef. Some of the Tartars have, here, water-melon gardens, where this fruit thrives uncommonly well, and from whence they ſupply other ſtations, who are in want of this producti⯑on. Among the Kalmucks lived a Sungorian prieſt or gellung, who had ten ſcholars (Mandſchi). His bur⯑chans were Ajuſcha, Dſhak-dſchimmuni, and another figure reſembling the former, which was holding his hands acroſs before him, having, in the right, the ſa⯑cerdotal ſceptre, and, in the left, the bell; he called him Odſchirrdarr. All were neatly caſt in copper and ſtrongly gilt. I will give my readers two other Kal⯑muck ſtories, which may ſerve as proofs of their auſ⯑pices.

I have already mentioned that the white owl is much looked up to and conſidered as a ſacred, propheſying bird. To the flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) known in Ruſſia by the name of kraſna, or red gooſe, they ſhew an abſurd antipathy, whilſt they almoſt make a burchan of the other. They believe the latter to be poſſeſſed of an evil ſpirit, look upon it as a bird omi⯑nous of ill, turn away their faces from it and load it with imprecations; but, of the red duck, which is alſo a ſacred bird, they ſay it is the pureſt of all the winged tribe. The crane is alſo held to be one of the pureſt of birds and is, therefore, never killed.

[10]Near Kulagina, is a piece of Ruſſian antiquity, worth notice. It is a conſiderable intrenchment, known to the Coſſacks by the name of Marinkin-Gorodok. Marinka, it is ſaid, was a woman, who, in former times, committed robberies from this place. Nothing is more probable than that it owes it's fortification and name to Marina of Senomir, ſpouſe to one of the falſe Demetriuſes. Marinkin-Gorodok, lies about a mile north-eaſt of Kulagina, where the Jaik once had it's courſe, though now at the diſtance of three-quarters of a mile. The intrenchment repreſents a direct angle with oblique ſides: from one end of the intrenchment to the other, it is 335 paces. Within the intrenchment are, here and there, turf-hills, ariſing from ſubterra⯑neous habitations, which the Coſſacks affirm to be there.

Before I quit this place, permit me to mention the condition of a patient afflicted with the leproſy, a youth of twenty.—From his infancy, he was always ſaid to be of an infirm conſtitution, but never had any diſtemper till the age of fifteen; at that period, two red blotches were obſerved upon his face, as broad as two thumbs. He continued, however, in good ſpirits and the blotches diſappeared before the year had elapſ⯑ed. In the ſecond year came forth, by degrees, over his whole body, reddiſh and blue ſpots, accompanied by a denſity of ſkin, with which he was afflicted when I ſaw him. With the leproſy he felt a weakneſs in all his [11] limbs and a ſmart pain in the joints. This weakneſs and pain frequently attacked him to ſuch a degree, that he was unable to move either hand or foot, yet his joints were not the leaſt ſwelled. He was once blood⯑ed, and his blood was thick and of a high-red colour. The pains were not always equally violent, but remit⯑ted for ſome days and were eaſier: rubbing the joints with oil of turpentine relieved him. In the third year, his mouth and throat became full of little boils, which affected his voice, and made him, as it were, ſhort⯑breathed. He had, alſo, a continual cough and dry⯑neſs of mouth. Even before the leproſy, he ſeemed to have the itch and it continued with it. Notwith⯑ſtanding this diſorder, he had a good appetite and when the cough and pains in his limbs did not prevent him, performed his accuſtomed labour. His urine was reddiſh, but not unnatural. He never experienced any inclination to venery; the palms of his hands and ſoles of his feet were free from the leproſy, but the ſkin hardened and peeled off from them; to remedy this, they were often anointed with fiſh-fat. The cauſe or the diſtemper is unknown, but ſeveral of his mother's relations are ſaid to have been afflicted with the ſame. His parents never refuſed to attend him; they did not drink out of the ſame veſſels, but lived with him, went into the ſame bath and never experienced the leaſt of the diſorder.

[12]In my way to Gurjef, I took notice of the caper⯑bean, (Zygophyllum fabago), which is, in that ſalt quar⯑ter, a common weed and in great plenty. It was now, the 22d of Auguſt, full of ripe ſeeds of which they make capers, about Aſtrachan. As it was quite decay⯑ed, I could not determine it's ſpecies; ſo far I could gather, that it belongs to the ſtar-flowers, (Compoſiti⯑florae), and it's leaves are of middle ſize, like thoſe of purſlain. It grows up with ſtraight and branching ſtalks, about an ell high, and bears flowers on the point, which are ſaid to be blue. The calix ſeems like that of the hawk-weed, (Hieracium), and the ſeeds hairy, (pappus piloſus ſeſſilis).

Near the ſtation Saratſchik, on the eaſtern ſide of the river Jaik, are the ruins of a mauſoleum and the remains of a Tartarian town, probably the aſylum of a Tartarian horde, which time has obliterated. The bulwark and ditch is ſtill to be ſeen, and appears to be from three to four miles in circumference. In the middle of this area is a canal, which ſerved as an a⯑queduct. Within the bulwark are many traces, foun⯑dations and vaults of brick-buildings, which ſhew that in the middle of the town muſt have ſtood ſome conſi⯑derable edifices. The bricks are oblong and tolerably large: there are, alſo, ſome pieces of brown ſtones, with impreſſions of ſhells, no where elſe to be ſeen in this neighbourhood: likewiſe broken pieces of china-veſſels, ſome white, ſome a beautiful yellow and high⯑ly [13] glazed. As the whole ſoil of this town is extremely wet and ſalt, all the iron-work, which has been found, is ſo much covered with ruſt, as ſcarcely to be known what it is. It is the ſame with the copper and ſilver found; the copper almoſt conſumed with verdigreaſe and the ſilver changed almoſt to the innermoſt part of the metal. I ſaw there, in ſome of the Coſſack houſes, ſeveral coral-beads of divers colours, ſome little, ground and poliſhed topazes, and ſome ſtones like cornelian. The ſepulchres made here, are of brick, and often little articles of value have been found in them.

In this place, alſo, was a leprous Coſſack, about forty years of age, who had been ſix years afflicted with this diſorder. His firſt ſymptom of leproſy, was a large, high-red ſpot upon his forehead, which preſent⯑ly diſappeared; ſoon after, his body became red, all over, with terrible blue ſpots, which made his ſkin ſo painful that he could not bear it to be touched. Even this diſappeared in ſix months. After this, he felt, by degrees, a pain, but without any ſwelling, in his arms and hands, which are now ſo much withered, as to be uſeleſs. During the enſuing years, he felt the moſt violent pain in his legs and feet: his legs ſwelled and the ſkin became thick and hard, but he never had any ulcers in his mouth or throat. After ſome time, the ſpots diſappeared again, and have not broke out ſince. Other matters, were as I deſcribed in the boy. This [14] man had a relation who died of this diſorder; yet no one is afraid to nurſe him or be about him. They all take care, however, not to eat or drink, out of his veſ⯑ſels. The livid colour in his face and ſwelled appear⯑ances, began with the diſorder and continued till I ſaw him.

On the 22d of Auguſt, I reached the new-erected redoubt of Gurjef. The Jaik, here, winds and bends ſo much, that it would be difficult to repreſent it on a map, and, after all one's trouble, it might be looked on as queſtionable and unauthentic, particular⯑ly as the ſtream ſo often changes by inundations in the ſpring. The whole diſtrict is a ſalt-mine and, in ſum⯑mer, the flies are inſupportable. I do not know a, more ſuitable puniſhment for malefactors than to tranſ⯑port them here, and make them burn aſhes of the ſalt-plants. Since I have been out, I never ſpent ſo diſa⯑greeable a day, as in this redoubt, waiting for a carri⯑age. Among other ſalt-plants, I found the two fol⯑lowing, new ones, Polycnenum oppoſiti-folium and Salicor⯑nia foliata, and a ſpecies of fly that crowded the air and tortured us exceedingly, met with about the Caſ⯑pian ſea, but new and unknown in Europe.

On the 23d, arrived from Gurjef, two boats, with Mr. Lepechin, whom I met here, but a ſouth weſt wind, which continued all this day and the next, prevented my departure for Gurjef till the 24th, [15] in the afternoon, for, it was impoſſible to croſs the Jaik on horſeback, there being no bridges; I went, therefore, by water, and, by this means, avoided the flies and other vermin. The road to Gurjef, by land, does not exceed fifteen miles, but, by water, it was near thirty. We reached Gurjef about two o'clock in the morning, where I found Profeſſor Lowitz buſy in his aſtronomical obſervatory. Gurjef was now the ren⯑dezvous of ſcientific pilgrims, for, beſides Profeſſor Lowitz, his Aſſiſtant Inochodzof was there and Lieuten⯑ant Euler. We could not have choſen a more diſa⯑greeable place for this purpoſe, but the hoſpitality of the commandant, Brigadier de Vegeſak, and his ſocial diſpoſition, put us at our eaſe and made it pleaſant.

Gurjef, though ſmall, is about ſeven miles from the mouth of the Jaik, which empties itſelf into the Caſpi⯑on ſea, is one of the moſt regular and well-built, little forts about the river Jaik; it's works conſiſt of a ſtrong, ſquare brick-wall with baſtions on it's angles. The place has but one gate facing the river, which flows, near it. Except the houſe of the commanding-officer, there is ſcarce a good habitation in the place. The church, like the houſes, is built of wood, except the powder-magazine, which is of ſtone. The garriſon conſiſts of a company of infantry and ſixty Coſſacks, and here live a few merchants, from Aſtrachan. The place might become flouriſhing, if they would encou⯑rage a trade with the Kirgueſe and the ſituation, itſelf, [16] was not ſo unwholeſome. The few merchants here, carry on a lucrative commerce with the Kirgueſe, but it might be rendered far more conſiderable. There is ſcarce ſo unhealthy a place to be met with, from ſpring to autumn. The fort lies in the middle of a ſalt⯑marſh, moſtly overflown in ſpring by ſea-water, driven by the ſouthern winds into the mouth of the Jaik. Within the fort, they have raiſed the ground by art, yet the whole is ſo ſalt and loamy, that it is never dry; of courſe, we breathe conſtantly a ſoul air, rendred ſtinking by ſea-mud, even though the weather is ſtor⯑my. Within doors, one is covered with wood-lice and tarakans, and as ſoon as we leave the fort, the ox-flies, (Tabanus bovmus et occidentalis), make their attack upon us in ſwarms. It is no wonder that the inhabi⯑tants ſicken under ſuch torments, yet their diſorders are not ſo general and mortal as one would ſuppoſe, and the garriſon bill of mortality for ſix years, though they have no regular ſurgeon, has been extremely ſmall. Incautious ſtrangers generally pay the tribute of ſick⯑neſs at firſt coming, and the ſcurvy in the ſpring here is a univerſal complaint; but the inhabitants cure themſelves by the leaves of the rapontic and the roots of the reed-mace, (Typha).

The ſaltneſs of the mires is to be attributed to thoſe moſt remarkable ſalt-dews which, in ſummer-time, are common about Gurjef. This, to many, will appear an incredible phenomenon, but I am able to confirm [17] it's truth by many credible witneſſes. It would be no⯑thing ſurprizing to find a ſalt-dew upon flowers and plants in ſalt-ground, as they commonly perſpire a great quantity of ſalt, but even the drops of dew that gather in the free air on ſmooth bodies and the moiſt⯑neſs which enters our cloaths, have a conſiderable de⯑gree of ſaltneſs. Why then ſhould it be ſurprizing, that chemiſts, by a reiterated diſſolution and evapora⯑tion of ſalt, have found a certain diminution of the quantity, and hence conclude, that ſalt may be diſſol⯑ved into earth and water, and apparently united with both? I muſt alſo take notice, that ſalt-dew may be obſerved higher up the Jaik and, undoubtedly, the pernicious dews are of the ſame kind in other hot and ſultry climates.

It appears that the ſaltneſs of the ſoil, round Gurjef, ought not ſolely to be aſcribed to the ſea-water, for it is only the detained water of the river that overflows this diſtrict, and the Jaik, near Gurjef, is ſcarce, per⯑ceptibly ſalt, though the ſea-winds blow. Beſides, a little, ſtucco rock, lying not above a mile and a half from Gurjef, weſtward, to every one's ſurprize, in a low and miry ground, ſeems a confirmation of theſe re⯑marks, to indicate ſome hidden ſalt, and which may, alſo, be concluded from the ſtrong ſaltneſs of the wa⯑ter, which collects itſelf in holes made in this ground. The ſtucco, here, as moſtly on the Inderſkoian moun⯑tains, is of the nature of ſelenites and from this little [18] hill, ſituated between Tſchernaja Retſchka and an arm of the Jaik, runs a bank of muſcle-ſhell ground, to⯑wards the ſea. The Kirgueſe hold this hill, like thoſe of Ilezkaja, ſacred. They do not aſſemble here to ce⯑lebrate feaſts, but believe that ſome ſaint is interred therein and, therefore, frequently there bury their dead.

The ſuppoſition of concealed ſalt here is more rati⯑onal from the ſalt-lakes in the Kirguiſian ſtep, on the oppoſite ſide of the river, where the garriſon of Gurjef may ſupply itſelf with ſalt, gratis.

Every ſpecies of fiſh found in the Jaik, crowd all the bays here and alſo the lake; but, the privilege of the Jaikian Coſſacks prohibits the garriſon from fiſh⯑ing with nets, yet the ſoldiers have a method of catch⯑ing plenty, eſpecially barbel, in the ſhallows, with a two-ſpiked harpoon.

All the ſide-waters of the Jaik are full of frogs, a⯑mong theſe there is a huge ſpecies, which is alſo found in the Wolga, whoſe voice reſembles the loud laugh of a man. It might, perhaps, be of ſervice to the French nation to ſend a colony of theſe frogs into the rivers of France, for there is more fleſh on the hind⯑part of one Jaikian frog, than ten common ones, and they are equally as delicate. The miry bottom of the Jaik breeds alſo a great many river-crabs, and they [19] are larger here than I remember to have any where ſeen, yet empty, lean and of a bad flavour, and as the crabs of the Wolga, when boiled, are but of a pale-red, thoſe of the Jaik become only of a yellow-grey. Here are, alſo, plenty of water-ſerpents, (Coluber Hy⯑drus et ſcutatus), and the common otter, with red ſpots about his neck.

There is here an undeſcribable quantity of wild-fowl. The bittern, ſeveral ſpecies of ſea-ravens, the leaſt not leſs in ſize than a pidgeon; the ſpoon-bill heron, brown, red, white and little white herons, and every other kind; night-ravens, among which is the large Tantalus niger, the ſea-lark, (Hiaticula) in great abundance; but the moſt curious bird they have, is the long-legged plover (Himantopus). The yelper, or Italian avoſetta (Recurviroſtra), ſeveral ſpecies of gulls, (Larus cinerarius et naevius), alſo terns, (Sterna hirundo, naevia, nigra); and, among the birds of prey, the following hawks; Falco Lanarius, Pygargus, acru⯑ginoſus et Niſus: among the ſmall birds, the ruſh-thruſh, (turdus arundinaceus), and the tit-mouſe, (pa⯑rus biarmicus), and quantities of all ſorts of night-birds. In the fort itſelf, are many large bats, in ſuch quantities under the roofs, that we may hear them ſcream every where. We meet alſo, here, with all kinds of owls, particularly the churn-owl, (Caprimul⯑gus), and the ſtrix pulchella. The cauſe of their abode here, is an abundance of nocturnal inſects, which affords [20] them a rich ſubſiſtence. Swans and flamingos, (Phoe⯑nicopterus), are only ſeen wandering in ſpring; theſe birds are too ſhy to live here, but in the more diſtant bays, they are knocked down with cudgels, at moult⯑ing time, by the Coſſacks, having no wing feathers to fly and protect themſelves. Here are, alſo, plenty of wild-boars, which the Coſſacks hunt with hounds, but not without danger, and kill them with guns and lan⯑ces. Theſe animals frequent the ruſhy diſtricts, live on ruſh-roots and attain ſo prodigious a ſize, that the males ſhall, ſometimes, weigh above 600 lb. their co⯑lour is a yellowiſh-brown, but their heads and feet of an iron-grey or black. The bodies of the cubs are iron-grey, with yellow-white ſpots, and are ſo wild as ſcarcely to be tamed; the fat of the wild-boar is a hand deep, but it waſtes almoſt all away in boiling; the fleſh, however, is ſound and has not the leaſt taſte of a wild, ravenous animal.

Otter-hunting is a fine diverſion in this country, and catching of ſea-dogs, which ſometimes come up the river from Aſtrachan. Their heads and fore-feet are ſo overgrown with fat, that they reſemble rather bottles of fiſh-oil than animals. A great deal of ſea-dog oil is exported from Aſtrachan in the Ruſſian trade, and is uſed in the preparation of Ruſſian hides, about Caſan. With the addition of pot-aſh, they make of it, at Aſ⯑trachan, a grey ſoap, allowed to be incomparable for [21] cleaning of woolens. It is ſold in ſmall, ſoft, flat cakes, by the name of Aſtrachan or Tartarian ſoap.

As to the vegetable kingdom, we find, about Gurjef, the ſame kind of plants as are the natives of all ſalt ſoils. One would ſcarcely ſuppoſe that, on ſuch a ſoil, any kind of culinary herbs would grow, but wee ſee the re⯑verſe. The commandant has a garden, in which grows well, melons, cucumbers for pickling, beet, horſe-radiſh, colewort, cole-rape, parſley; and it would bring forth tobacco, celery, cauliflowers, potatoes and water-melons.

I went down the river, between the 25th and 30th of Auguſt, to the Caſpian ſea, which, at the mouth of the Jaik, is of a grey-green colour, but further out, ſailors ſay, it is of a black-green, and that they often obſerve a phoſphoric ſplendor in it's waves.

In the Caſpian-ſea fiſheries, the beljuga-ſtone, which has always, remained problematical, is often found in the larger ſpecies of this fiſh, and commonly ſold at the cheap price of a few rubles. According to fiſher⯑mens accounts, this ſtone is always found in a ſack of the rectum, or fundament-gut, through which the fiſh depoſes it's excrement and ſpawn. They are ſometimes found, alſo, in the largeſt ſorts of ſturgeons. I have known ſuch ſtones weigh from one to three ounces; they may, with difficulty, be ſcraped with a knife. [22] Among the Ruſſian domeſtic medicines, the beljuga-ſtone is of great importance, though it does not merit it. It is given to expedite hard travail, in diſorders of children and obſtructions of the urethra, in ſmall doſes, ſcraped and mixed with water. They aſcribe theſe and ſome other inconceivable virtues to a ſtone often found in the bladder of wild-boars, and ſold dearer than that of the beljuga, by the name of Kabannoi Kamen.

That the beljuga-ſtone is to be reckoned among ani⯑mal-ſtones, and ſhould not be taken as an auricular bone or other natural parts of a fiſh, is proved, beſides the confirmed ſituation in which it is found, and their different ſhapes; for, ſometimes, they are quite oval and ſmooth, and ſometimes rough and ſandy, triangu⯑lar and more or leſs flattened; their colour is bone-white and they are of a uniform texture.

'The Caſpian ſea,' ſays Tooke, ‘is, at preſent, no more than a great lake confined within the land, but it is ſuppoſed, formerly, to have had a commu⯑nication with the Euxine-ſea and to have ſpread over all thoſe vaſt ſteps, or deſarts, of the Jaik, the Wol⯑ga and the Kalmucks. The multitude of ſhells ſcat⯑tered over all theſe ſteps, ſuch ſhells as are found in the Caſpian ſea alone and are never to be met with in rivers, the uniformity of ſoil in all the parts of theſe ſteps, conſiſting, with a very few exceptions, of a pure ſand, the general ſaline quality of the ſoil, that [23] continued equality of country, and that univerſal want of wood, &c. favour this opinion.’

‘Not to ſay ſomething of the city of Aſtrachan, when we are treating of places ſo near it, would be unpardonable. Dr. Pallas did not viſit this place himſelf, but Mr. Gmelin did, in 1769, and he tells us, that this city is ſituated in the midſt of meadows that border the Wolga, where the river divides into a number of branches, about ſixty miles from it's entrance, into the Caſpian ſea; and is built on ſeve⯑ral hills that lie within the compaſs of it's walls. It has a fortreſs; the city is ſurrounded with walls, con⯑tains 2,541 houſes, twenty-five Ruſſian churches and two convents. The Armenians have two churches, the Lutherans one, the Roman-catholics one, and the Indians have a ſmall idol-temple. It has a large metropolitical church, built of brick, an archiepiſcopal palace and an archbiſhop. Here is a large, botanical garden and a chemical laboratory, where they prepare ſalts extracted from plants, the bitter ſalt of Aſtrachan, the juice of liquorice, diſtil⯑led waters, &c. Every Apothecary's ſhop, through⯑out the empire, belongs to the crown and they ob⯑tain, from this place, every medicinal plant they want; the apothecary here eſtabliſhed, ſupplies all Ruſſia with liquorice-juice and glaubers-ſalts, and being near Perſia, and, of courſe, able to procure curious ſimples from thence at a cheap rate, he is [24] frequently ordered to ſupply the drug-warehouſes with them, at Peterſburg and Moſcow. In one part of Aſtrachan, is the imperial comptoir of the gar⯑dens, which contain above 300 perſons. Theſe fur⯑niſh the court of Peterſburg with every kind of fruit, and are now eſtabliſhing vineyards.’

‘In the gardens of Aſtrachan, grow all ſorts of Eu⯑ropean, culinary herbs, except the potatoe and the artichoke. They plant a great quantity of pimento. Pears, apples, cherries, peaches and mulberry-trees thrive exceedingly well; but, as caterpillars deſtroy moſt of the bloſſoms, they bear but little fruit. They lay their vines under-ground, all-winter, and, as the heats in ſummer are exceedingly ſultry and ſhowers rare, gardens are watered by wind-mills, which raiſe the water from running ſtreams into trenches, that run through the grounds and ſufficiently refreſh the plants without throwing it over them.’

‘This city having ſuffered prodigiouſly by a late fire, the court of Peterſburgh has ordered the bank to advance 170,000 rubles for building brick-houſes, which the inhabitants were to be put in poſſeſſion of, on paying the net coſt of the building. The poor to be allowed ten years to pay the money, but theſe buildings are carried on ſo ſlow, that many generati⯑ons will paſs away before Aſtrachan is finiſhed.’

[25]I returned to Gurjef on the 31ſt, and, though we had a dreadful ſtorm before us, not a ſingle drop of rain fell upon us. As I went further on, I found that the rain had fallen like a torrent and rendered the roads ſo bad, that our horſes and wheels ſunk upon the ſalt-ſpots ſo deep, that we could not get them out for half an hour. This violent rain had extended itſelf further than the Inderſkoi-mountains, for, on the 1ſt of Sep⯑tember, I paid a ſecond viſit to the ſalt-lake there. It was, at this time, full of Kirgueſe, either encamped or wandering about with their herds, yet, though I had an eſcort only of four Coſſacks, they behaved moſt friendly and ſociably. Theſe gueſts had entirely dri⯑ven away the antelopes, whoſe arrival here is always conſidered as the approach of the Kirgueſe, for they conſtantly fly before a Kirguiſian encampment.

On the 2d of September, towards night, I came to Antenowa, in my way back to Jaizkoi-Gorodok, and, the ſame moment as I left it, aroſe a violent, hot hurri⯑cane, called, by the Tartars, Buran, from ſouth-weſt, and continued during the whole night. The air was ſo cloſe and ſultry, that we had almoſt loſt reſpiration. De L'iſles' thermometer was, the whole night, at 110 deg. and, after ſun-riſe, when the wind was abated, at 115 deg. Such ſultry ſtorms riſing from eaſt and ſouth-eaſt, eſpecially in autumn, in theſe diſtricts, are not rare, and are looked upon as fore-runners of heavy tempeſts. We had juſt reached Koſcha-Charof on the [26] 5th, at night, as the air was calm and ſomewhat cooler, when ſome dreadful, tempeſtuous clouds, from ſouth-eaſt, gathered over us and broke in ſhowers and unin⯑terrupted flaſhes of lightning, which rent the elements, and continued, for ſome ſeconds, in form of fiery co⯑lumns. On this account, we advanced but ſlowly. At break of day, September 6, we reached Budarin and, in the afternoon, Jaizkoi-Gorodok, at the diſtance of 361 miles.

'Theſe winds,' ſays Tooke, ‘are as hot as if they proceeded from the mouth of a furnace; they ge⯑nerally riſe about two o'clock in the afternoon and blow till after midnight. During the time they blow, ſheep will often fall down dead in numbers: the blood foams out at their mouths, and they ſwell and putrify ſo faſt, that it is not poſſible to ſave their ſkins. A wind of this ſort was felt at Antibes, in Provence, in the year 1756. It happened during the greateſt heat of ſummer, which is well known to be very in⯑tenſe in that country; and the woods, at a few leagues diſtance from the town, having taken fire, whereby more than a thouſand acres were conſumed; it ap⯑peared to thoſe who were expoſed to the wind, as if ſcalding water was thrown over them. The typhons of Egypt are of this kind.’

Jaizkoi-Gorodok. The tempeſt I have juſt now men⯑tioned, put an end to the preſent ſummer, and we had [27] not one perfectly agreeable day after it. It was time, therefore, to go to Ufa, where I deſigned to paſs my winter; but, being deſirous firſt of ſatisfying my curio⯑ſity, by taking a view of ſome remarkable things in the ſtep-mountains here, I went, after writing down my obſervations, on the 15th, to that mountainous diſtrict, from whence ſprings the brook Derkul and flows more than fifteen miles above Jaizkoi-Gorodok, on the right, into the Tſchagan; and I ſent two ſtudents on before me, to another brook.

A mile or two from the town, I paſſed the burial-place of the Tartarian Coſſacks, which is on one of the ſteps. Here is a wooden houſe of prayer and many grave-hills, having at each ſouthern end a pole. Se⯑veral ſuch ancient burial-places are to be met with be⯑tween both Tſchagans and the Jaik, derived, perhaps, from the Nogayans that formerly reſided here, for they are not Kirguiſian tombs.

About eighteen miles from Jaizkoi-Gorodok, on a dry, hilly-ſtep, is a high tumulus. Several Tartars were here encamped with their herds. A ſalt-plant, which I had not yet ſeen, was here in full bloom, (Aſ⯑tragalus Cornutus). Whole flocks of buſtards were here on the ſtep and departing for warmer climes.

On the 16th, we ſaw many wild goats roving at ſome diſtance, Towards night it began to rain and grew ſo [28] dark, that I was obliged to ſpend the night in the mid⯑dle of a ſtep, where we could ſcarcely gather as much bruſh-wood and reed as was neceſſary to warm and dry ourſelves. On the 17th, we returned to Jaizkoi-Go⯑rodok, during a continual rain. Larks, wild pidgeons and other wandering birds repaired, in great numbers, to the ſouthern climates, which foreboded an early winter.

On the 21ſt of September I ſet out for Ufa; but, the day before I left Jaizkoi-Gorodok, a violent ſtorm roſe from the ſouth-eaſt and brought, about night, tre⯑mendous thunder and ſuch heavy rains as could only be compared to a ſpout; ſo that, within an hour, the fields were covered with water ſix inches deep, and, in the courſe of the night, the wind changed to the north-eaſt, and brought ſnow and froſt ſo ſevere as to freeze the waters and make every place around us a ſcene of ice. During this weather, crowds of cranes and buſ⯑tards travelled downwards along the Jaik, and vaſt flights of ſmall birds, a ſpecies of Ortolan and equal to ours in flavour, (Emberizapaſſerina), ran about the roads without being the leaſt ſhy.

The village Kargalinſkaja, through which we paſſed, not many miles from Orenburg, is delightfully ſituated on the north and right bank of the Samara. The houſes, which are moſtly well-built with ſtone-foundations and provided with airy rooms, are in number 300, and the [29] metſched or houſe of prayer, is a fine and pleaſing edi⯑fice. Moſt of the Tartars here ſettled are of Caſanian origin, but differ a little from the Caſanians in their manners and cuſtoms, and are a trading and ſubſtantial people. It will not then be wondered at, that they ſhould ſtudy their perſons and have a little Tartarian gallantry among them. Theſe people, like our modern Turks, clear away the hair from every part of their bodies, with an ointment of lime and arſenick; and the women, in imitation of Oriental nations, paint their eyes and nails. The Tartarian ladies make uſe of a certain plant called Kina or Kna, dry it and reduce it to powder, which being mixed with allum and freſh gooſe-dung, they bind, for one night, over their nails and it gives them a yellow-red colour, which, among our European beauties would ſurely, as an ornament, be rejected; though it be an inſtance of Oriental taſte. Spaniſh-paſte is an imitation of that uſed by the Tar⯑tars and Moors, for extirpating their hair.

They grow a great deal of wheat about Kargalinſ⯑kaja, of which they make a fine flour, notwithſtanding the ſoil and ſituation is more unfavourable to this grain here, than in ſome other places; for, according to far⯑mers theory, wheat will do well in very open countries, where wood will not grow, and here there is little elſe than birch and white poplars. The country along the Samara, is ſo rich with metalick ores, that one cannot travel half a mile without ſeeing ſome mineral enclo⯑ſures, [30] belonging to different manufactories at Oren⯑burg.

The badneſs of the weather and the ſnow, which be⯑gan to cover every part of the ground, would not per⯑mit me to make many uſeful obſervations, I therefore paſſed Orenburg and made the beſt of my way to Ufa, through many Baſkirian villages and ſtations. The Baſkirs were now aſſembling themſelves with their hordes about their winter-quarters. They differ from other nomades, by living, during the winter, in huts built of wood, in the Ruſſian way. Near theſe huts, they lay ſtores of hay in high ſtacks round about trees, to feed their cattle, in caſe of neceſſity. Moſt of their houſes are very ſmall and the room within is provided with wooden benches to ſleep on. The Baſkirians have a chimney on the right hand of the door, reſembling a cylinder, which grows narrower at top. It is open be⯑low about the height of a man, made with wooden ſtakes and bruſh-wood, well plaiſtered with, mortar. In this chimney they burn faggots, ſet up an end. Near the chimney is a little hearth, whereon they ſet a boiler to dreſs their victuals, and this boiler has a par⯑ticular pipe to let out the ſteam. Their chimneys are well-contrived, but as the wood burns well and very bright, it hurts the eyes more than the ſmoke, of courſe, they labour conſtantly under ſome ocular diſor⯑der.

[31]The principal piece of houſhold furniture in the fil⯑thy hovels of the Baſkirians, is a high bottle, like a leathern veſſel, faſtened on a wooden frame and always full of ſour milk, or arjan. Whilſt the cattle yield milk and they have ſtore of honey, the Baſkirians live jovially and uſe no other drink than ſour milk or mead; but, as they ſeldom like to clean theſe veſſels, the of⯑fenſive ſmell may eaſily be conceived. In winter, or when travelling, they ſupply the want of this drink by little cheeſes (krut) made from very four milk and dried in the ſmoke; this they bruiſe and ſoak in water, which makes a ſouriſh drink. Their uſual food is thin broth, which they ſend with wooden ſpoons partly down their throats and partly over their beards. They ſow no more wheat than they want for their own uſe, and this is but little. Indeed it is little to be expected that they ever will become good huſbandmen, as they are ſo much taken up in breeding bees and horſes, which enriches them ſufficiently for the indolent man⯑ner of life eſtabliſhed among them. They do not eat bread every day and are ſaid to bake it like the firſt men. Their women kneed, with unwaſhed hands, a cake with water and ſalt and bury it in the hot cinders of the hearth; they then put a ſtick into the cake and toaſt it before the fire, till it is brown.

The dreſs of the Baſkirian women, differs little from that of the women of Tſchuwa. The moſt eſſential difference is in the head-dreſs, where, inſtead of that [32] long latchet, beſet with ſilver-coins, which flows down the back, being faſtened to the cap; it is here fixed to a quadrangular conical plate, faſtened on the opening of the cap on the top of the head, the whole richly de⯑corated with little ſilver-coins, or plates. Both ſexes wear ſhirts of coarſe linen, made of hemp, or from a thread ſpun from the large nettle, very wide trouſers, buſkins or ſlippers. The poor wrap their legs in rags and wear ſhoes made of the bark of a tree. The net⯑tles which they ſpin for lines, grow in a fat ſoil near their habitations, and are dried in autumn with the hemp. After this, being watered, the outſide rind is taken off with the hands, by breaking the ſtalk, and then beaten in a wooden mortar, till they are reduced to tow. As to their perſons, they are, without exception, the fil⯑thieſt and worſt behaved of all the Tartarian or Tſchu⯑wan nations; but I ſhall have an opportunity of ſpeak⯑ing of them again,

Before I could reach Ufa, I was obliged to paſs the Uralian mountains, which are full of minerals and many of which are covered with wood, and the neigh⯑bourhood inhabited by Tartars, Tſchuwanians, &c. I paſſed a copper-mine, worked by the Baſkirians.

Upon the rocky mountains, along the Belaja, which I paſſed in great haſte, grows the ſavin-buſh, uſed by the Baſkirians, to ſmoke their ſick children with. They alſo put it over their doors, from an idea that it [33] has a particular virtue againſt witchcraft. It differs not in the leaſt degree from the common ſavin, (Sabi⯑na), except that it's bluiſh berries generally contain but one, two or three ſeeds. The foreſts here produce conſiderable larches, which, like the ſavin, is not to be ſeen weſtward of the Uralian mountains. On the old trunks of this tree, we find not only the medicinal larch-muſhroom, (Agaricus Officinarum), which the Baſkirians bruiſe and ſtrew upon the wounds of cattle, but, alſo, a roſin oozing out, which ſometimes is reſi⯑nous and ſometimes gummy, and diſſolves perfectly in water. By order of the imperial college of phyſicians, a great deal of this gum has been gathered in the pro⯑vince of Ufa, which, in pharmacy, may be uſed in⯑ſtead of gum-ſenega or Arabian-gum. It's colour is not ſo clear, but it has ſuch a degree of viſcidity or adheſion, that it may anſwer all the purpoſes of foreign gums, in mechanics and manufactures. It is remark⯑able that a certain tree, a ſpecies of the reſin-tree, ſi⯑milar to this, produces ſometimes reſin and ſometimes gum; and I have now an opportunity of confirming an obſervation of the learned Dr. Rinder, reſpecting the larch-tree, that in ſpring it produces a gum, in winter, a degenerated juice, but, in autumn, a real reſin. The ſame naturaliſt has aſſured me, that in April, when the larch iſſues forth bladders, a fluid reſin may be gathered from it, in every reſpect ſimilar to the bal⯑ſam of Mecca. Nay, ſome pretend it may be extract⯑ed from the white fir.

[34]It may readily be ſuppoſed, that in the neighbour⯑hood of the Ural, there are many noble birds of prey. Here is a kind of vulture-hawk, and other beautiful ſpe⯑cies of hawks, (Falco barbarus et arborarius), alſo di⯑vers kinds of eagles. A large ſpecies of owls, (Stryx Uralenſis), is alſo very common here, though I never ſaw them deſcribed any where.

Ufa. I reached Ufa, after travelling 370 miles from Jaizkoi-Gorodok, on the 2d of October, wintered there very diſagreeably and did not leave it till April. In the vicinage of this place, on the high roads, are three or four houſes of accommodation for travellers, kept by Ruſſians.

Ufa is an ill-built city and very much decayed. The neighbourhood being richly peopled with Baſkirians, it's ſituation would be a bad one, if it was not a place of ſecurity againſt the invaſions of theſe Baſkirians and others. It contains about ſix or ſeven hundred houſes, diſperſed in irregular lines, on the bank of the Belaja, and, owing to a bend of that river, forms a kind of creſcent. Torrents of ſnow and rain-water ruſhing down from the heights above it, encompaſs the city all round, and, the houſes, being built on the declivity of a hill, have a good effect and contribute to it's ſafe⯑ty, which now, indeed, ſeems eſtabliſhed, by the peaceable diſpoſition of it's neighbours and the fortifi⯑cation of it's frontiers. The ancient works of Ufa are [35] moſtly decayed, and there is ſcarce a trace to be ſeen of that line of paliſadoes, that ran near five miles along the town and covered the fields and paſtures belonging to this place, in any trouble or commotion: there re⯑mains only, now, ſome relicks of an old watch-tower.

The ſituation of the city, it's ſix churches in ſeveral quarters of it, and particularly it's ſtone-built cathe⯑dral, ſtanding with many other public buildings on an elevation, ſurrounded with paliſadoes, give it the ap⯑pearance of an amphitheatre and make it look better than it is; but it is dreary enough in ſpring when a traveller comes and at other wet times. The corrupt⯑ed manners of the people render an abode here the more diſagreeable, for there is ſcarce a ſubſtantial or civilized inhabitant, except thoſe perſons who belong to the office of mines and manufactures, the city not being able to boaſt of a regular trade or a good ma⯑nufactory, except a few tanners, who have here a tan⯑mill, worked by one horſe. Indeed they have no workmen. As to their trade, it has not been extend⯑ed further than to travel to Caſan, to fetch goods to ſell to the Baſkirians, whom they ſupply at an exorbitant rate, and who come here to buy or to attend the court of juſtice. The inhabitants indeed are ſo careleſs and ſo indifferent about improving their ſtate and ſituation, that they ſuffer the Caſanian and Ufian Tartars to run away with the lucrative trade of honey and wax, and a few more important articles, as marten and boar-ſkins, [36] horſes and cattle. But this inactivity is the more deplore⯑able, as Ufa, by it's ſituation, might become the chief magazine of the whole regency of Orenburg, if the inhabitants had the leaſt ſpirit of trade in them; the tranſport by water being practicable through the Rama and Wolga, to the innermoſt parts of the empire, even to ſea-ports. By the communication of the Belaja with the other rivers and the arms or ſide-waters running from the Uralian mountains, rock-ſalt is conveyed to great diſtances; for veſſels are built here for this pur⯑poſe and always lying at anchor at Ufa.

The diſtrict of Ufa, is inhabited on the weſt, ſouth and north-weſt, by Ufian Tartars, related to the Ca⯑ſanians, but ſettled here long ſince. They are very numerous, throughout all the land lying between the Belaja and the river Ik, which falls into the Rama. The Tartars are, of all the inhabitants of the Ufian diſtrict, the moſt induſtrious huſbandmen and general⯑ly men of property; and, indeed it is no wonder, that by their economy, they ſhould proſper well in a coun⯑try abounding in excellent paſturage and woods profuſe with all the advantages that may be derived from hunt⯑ing, fiſhing and breeding of bees. Their method of huſbandry is this: they cultivate all the land round their habitations and divide a field into three parts, one of which lies fallow every year, in which fallow part they let their cattle run, which is as good as a dreſſing. Thus are their fields fertile for years and fit for wheat, [37] which they do not neglect. Should the fertility of ſuch ſpots fail, and they cannot find a ſtep near enough to their villages, they will remove their wooden houſes to ſome other place; on this account, they do not hedge in their huts, but, in winter-time, keep their cattle in incloſures, and, when the cattle are abroad on the ſtep, in ſummer-time, ſow thoſe encloſures with hemp.

In their way of living, they are tolerably neat. Men of property have, beſides their uſual habitations, a ſummer-reſidence, with a Baſkirian chimney and a large bench to ſleep on. The way from one to the other is laid with timber. Few marry more than one wife, none more than two. In all their villages, they have clerical ſchool-maſters, who teach their youth to pray.

The female-dreſs differs not very much from that of the Caſanian Tartars. Their common dreſs is, like that of the Baſkirians and the people of Tchuwa, made of coarſe linen, worked ſlightly with the needle about the neck and wriſts. Girls are never ſeen but in their beſt head-dreſs. The woman's cap ſits cloſe to the head, is cut out in front, faſtened underneath the chin and but⯑toned on the top of the head, the greateſt part of which is covered with old ſilver coins, or pieces of tin cut out to reſemble coins; but the front border of the cap is ornamented two inches broad with red coral beads, [38] narrower about the cheeks, and another row of the ſame beads runs from the top of the cap down to the part that binds the cheek. From behind the cap hangs down a band, above three fingers broad, which paſſes through the girdle and ſo far is decorated with ſmall coins and tin plates, but further down to the joint of the knee, with corals and fringes. Two other ſmall bands, ſimilarly ornamented, go from the cap to the girdle, to which laſt they are faſtened by their fringe⯑ends. Behind the ears, is faſtened to the cap, a breaſt⯑plate, beſet with ſilver-coins, proportionably orna⯑mented, and large or ſmall, according to the wealth or rank of the wearer, hanging from underneath the chin down upon the boſom. Over the head is a veil, the tops of which hang down on the back. Girls caps are quite round and not cut out upon the forehead; the breaſt-plate is very ſmall and narrow, no large band hanging down on the back, only the two ſmall ones, and ſometimes not theſe. They wear their hair, like the women, braided into two treſſes hidden in the nape of the neck, and upon it they ſometimes pin a little eſcutcheon, ornamented with coins and fringes. Com⯑monly, their head-dreſs conſiſts only of coral-beads, as the beſt and rich head-dreſs is the gift of the bride⯑groom, when a young couple is going to be married. But among the more wealthy of theſe people, girls caps are alſo ornamented with coins. I ſaw a girl, the front-point of whoſe cap was much lengthened and car⯑ved in wood. I alſo ſaw a girl who wore, as an orna⯑ment, [39] two triangular flaps beſet with coins, and made round on the lower-part, which were faſtened together on the forehead, behind and underneath the chin, and covered only the ſides of the head, leaving the whole head of hair bare. Except theſe little changes in dreſs, there is no difference between the Ufian and Caſanian Tartars. Their language and manners are the ſame, for, in the diſtrict of Ufa, they live promiſcuouſly to⯑gether.

The environs of Ufa riſe by degrees in conſiderable hills, which, at ſome diſtance from the city, are over⯑grown with woods of mixed trees, and higher up the Ufa is ſtill more woody. The mountains are lime⯑ſtone and ſtucco, with, now and then, a mixture or bad alabaſter. This diſtrict has no ores, except a few veins of a copper that is not worth the digging. Pe⯑trifactions are very rare among the lime, yet I found ſome madreporites up the Ufa, and they ſhewed me, in Ufa, a very large knuckle-bone of an elephant, which had been found with the head, &c. and ſome other bones of this animal, in a waſhed bank of the Belaja, above Ufa, and was in a tolerably ſound ſtate.

There are alſo upon the heights, weſt of this city, ſome large over-grown tumuli, which have been open⯑ed many years. Three of theſe tumuli, ſituated on a very elevated ſpot, ſtrike very much a ſcrutinizing eye. Some ſay, theſe were the tombs of governors, [40] who reſided here before this diſtrict ſubmitted to the Ruſ⯑ſian ſceptre, and it is alſo ſaid that all neighbouring Baſ⯑kirians paid tribute to theſe governors. Indeed there are many monuments of antiquity above Ufa, which ſhew that this place was inhabited by a people very different to the preſent. There are, on the other ſide of the Diouma, not thirty miles from Ufa, erections that certainly were not built by the preſent people; theſe are a kind of ſepulchral chapels, built of brick, and have round them many Arabian or Koptian tomb-ſtones, with inſcriptions. Mr. Krafft has given us many. The inſcriptions contain the name and quality of the perſon interred, the year he died and ſome moral ſen⯑tence beneath. Here follows a tranſlation of two.

The preſent winter was not very rigorous, yet it was diſagreeable, on account of it's dark and ſtormy wea⯑ther. The moſt violent froſt was felt in the third week in November, and, on the 23d, we had ſtorms in which many travellers, on the deſarts, loſt their lives. Theſe ſtorms continued the whole month of December, almoſt without interruption, yet the cold was not very ſevere. The month of January was moderate, that of February very temperate, but the month of March concluded the winter with a ſtill greater froſt, that con⯑tinued to the middle of the month, accompanied by a deep and univerſal ſnow, which was the principal cauſe of the late inundation.

[42]The birds of paſſage appeared with the end of March, flying towards the ſouth; from which quarter, after the river was freed from the ice, we ſaw a great many common geeſe, (Anſer Erythropus), ſeeking a colder climate. Wood-cocks and the ſea-pye remained in great numbers, even before the ice broke, and ſought their food on thoſe heights that were not covered with ſnow.

Having ſent ſome of my retinue, in the month of February, back to Gurjef, near the Caſpian ſea, in order to ſpend the ſpring there, I will, from the ob⯑ſervations they made, add here ſeveral remarks con⯑cerning the arrival of birds of paſſage, in that more ſouthern diſtrict, not quite uſeleſs to natural hiſtory. The river Jaik began to break on the 5th of March. Long before this and in the latter end of February, all ſorts of ſea-mews were ſeen in flocks upon the ice, which had not left the Caſpian ſea during the whole winter. With the laſt of February arrived large flights of ſwans, geeſe, ducks and bitterns, evidently from the weſt. Bitterns come from the ſouth, but never from the north-weſt. The heron was the only bird ſeen ſingly, after the water was clear of ice: but the lateſt, and about the middle of March, appear⯑ed the ſpoon-bill, heron and ſea-ravens, (Pelecanus Carbo et Pymeus). Land-birds and birds of prey, were at hand with the end of February. There was alſo ſtraying, at this time, a fine ſpecies of large and black [43] larks, (Alauda Perſica), which, commonly, do not exceed the 50th degree, but ſeemed to ſeek their home, which is, probably, Perſia and India. The hawk of paſſage, (Falco barbarus), ſeemed to come the lateſt among all other birds of prey; yet there was one ſhot, near Gurjef, on the 4th of April, though this bird ſel⯑dom frequents thoſe flat countries, but inhabits the fa⯑mous high mountains in the province of Ufa, where they build their neſts and paſs the ſummer. The laſt arrival of all birds of paſſage, was a beautiful ſpecies of quite green bee-eater, (Merops Tartarica), in the beginning of May: theſe dwell only in the vicinage of the Caſpian ſea and are never ſeen higher up the river Jaik.

Swallows were ſeen on the 15th of April, whilſt the weather was warm and ſerene; but as, on the 17th, the ſouth and weſt-wind began ſuddenly to blow north, and cauſed a ſharp froſt till the 19th at night, theſe birds and other little ones diſappeared, yet became viſible again on the 20th, when the weather grew mild. This circumſtance occaſioned a curious obſervation. On the 18th of March, I received, by one of my peo⯑ple, whom I had ſent to Gurjef, a common ſwallow, which a Tartar had found lying in a field, apparently dead and ſtiff with froſt. This ſwallow had ſcarce been a quarter of an hour in my room, which was mo⯑derately warm, than it began to breathe and at laſt it fluttered about the room, where it lived ſome days, till [44] it died by an accident. There remains not a doubt, therefore, but that thoſe ſwallows which have been found in winter in fiſhing-nets, clefts and hollow trees, apparently dead, may be made lively again by warmth; there being reaſon to believe that they are only be⯑numbed by accident, perhaps by ſome ſudden autum⯑nal froſt, and paſſed thus the winter in ſo torpid and extraordinary a ſtate, which ſeems to run counter to the laws of nature; and indeed we ſhould find here, in win⯑ter, many more ſwallows than we do, if they did not retire with other birds of paſſage to a warmer climate.

The budding of trees and their bloom was, this year, a whole month later than it was laſt ſpring, about the Samara, even ſome weeks behind the trees of Oren⯑burg, of which I had an account. The apple-tree, in the neighbourhood of Ufa, began to bud on the 20th of April, and was in bloom the beginning of May; not not much ſooner, the wild, black cherry, (Padus). and ſervice tree, (Sorbus); much later the plane, the hazel, the way-faring tree, (Opulus), the cornelian cherry, (Cornus Sanguinea), the elm, the linden and the oak.

TRAVELS THROUGH Siberia and Tartary, PROVINCES OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE;
Part II.

I Now prepared to ſet out to croſs the Uralian moun⯑tains, in my way to the province of Iſetta; diſ⯑patched a ſoldier on the 10th, with neceſſary orders to mend the roads and bridges, and followed, myſelf, on the 16th. Some few miles from Ufa, on the right-hand of the road, is a deep hole, called by the inhabi⯑tants, Beſdonnaja Jama, (bottomleſs pit). Three years ago a murrain among the horned cattle raged dreadful⯑ly, [46] and great numbers died. They carried the carcaſes of theſe and threw them into this pit, which occaſioned a large troop of mad dogs to aſſemble about it, and rendered the diſtrict ſo dangerous, that a company of armed ſoldiers were ſent out to clear them away.

At the diſtance of about twenty-five miles from Ufa, I ſlept, for the firſt night, in a village that contains but ten houſes, it's inhabitants are of that ſort of people called Tepterei. Theſe pay but a ſmall poll-tax to what others pay, but muſt furniſh the crown, gratis, with carts and horſes, to tranſport the rock-ſalt of Jlez⯑kaja, and the number of this people, in the province of Ufa alone, exceeds 30,000, conſiſting of Tartars, Tſcheremiſſians and thoſe of Tſchuwa. The Tartars, reſiding here, are the offspring of the Caſanians and differ from the Ufa Tartars. I occaſionally met with ſome of theſe people. The common dreſs of their women is a ſhift of died linen or cotton; they wear on their head the veil Taſtar, with a blue and green rib⯑band, laid round the head in form of a garland, as do the Caſanian Tartar women, putting on the rich head-dreſs only at feſtivals and on ſolemn occaſions.

Another enemy to bee-hives, is the bee-eater, which they ſtrive to keep off by ſurrounding the hives with all kinds of thorns. Nay, the Tartars believe there are perſons whoſe very looking on a hive is injurious to the bees. To guard againſt this, they ſuſpend, eſpecially before ſuch hives as are near their houſes, the bones of a horſe's head, or other bones, that the eye may firſt fall on theſe objects, and thus avoid the ſuperſtitious in⯑fluence of magic looks.

This whole diſtrict is rich with martens of a good kind, whoſe ſkins will ſell from 2s. 6d. Engliſh, to 3s. and 4s. 6d. each, according to the goodneſs and the number of buyers. This therefore is an encourage⯑ment to the Baſkirians, and other inhabitants, to hunt, and their method is, to trace the animal in the firſt fall of the ſnow, and when they meet with it, purſue it with their dogs, or bring it down from the trees by a gun or an arrow. In many of the brooks there is fine otter-hunting. Indeed there are ſo many of this animal, that they catch them with beam-traps, laying ſome fiſh or a crab for a bait. They kill alſo a great number of ſquirrels, whoſe ſkins are ſold with other furs, to the Tartars, who travel among them for the purpoſe; but marten ſkins are by far the moſt valuable. They catch now and then a bad ſable in the Uralian foreſts, [49] but it is ſeldom. Elks and roes, are to be met with in the upper diſtricts of the mountains, but there is ſcarce a wolf or fox to be found, on account of the thickneſs of the foreſts.

The only inſect here worth notice, is the crane-fly, (Tipula polygama) and this for its extraordinary mode of copulation. About each female aſſemble ten, twenty, or more males, which lay entangled together with their legs. If one ſeparates them, never leſs than two, but often three, or even four males, are found in cloſe con⯑nexion with the female. Theſe crane-flies fly but lit⯑tle, but they run about like ſpiders, and are a prey to the glow-worm, (Cicindela hybrida, et Sylvatica.)

On the 19th of May, I reached the Symſkoi iron⯑mills, the ſituation of which is uncommonly beautiful, being a little plain betwixt two woody mountains. The works are erected on a branch of the river Sym, where ſalmon are caught ſix or ſeven feet long, and a fine ſort of trout. On the water are two mills, ſix forges, and three hammer-mills, each mill working four hammers. Here is alſo an anchor-forge, and a furnace. The Sym is not navigable on account of its rapidity, of courſe they tranſport their iron ſome diſtance on ſledges during the winter. They manufacture here from 50 to 60,000 puds of iron annually, each pud 36lb. Engliſh. The workmen are all ſlaves, but are paid a ſufficient ſalary to live comfortably with their families. The work⯑mens [50] houſes are 160; a ſtone-built church ſtands on a vacant ſpot near them, and a good wooden manſion in which the miniſter lives, who has a country-houſe and a garden, the whole fortified with a breaſt-work of timber laid on each other, 2100 feet one way over, and 1050 feet the other.

In changing of horſes at one of the villages, the Baſkirians brought one of thoſe which they ſaid was of the breed of Schaitan Kudei, and would draw me well through any difficulty. On enquiring into the nature of this breed, they told me, that the firſt fire or father-ſtallion, married the daughter of a mountain ſpirit or devil (Schaitan) whom he met with in a ca⯑vern he made in an adjacent mountain, and that from this alliance this breed of horſes ſprang.

About forty-three miles further on, on the Uralian mountains is another iron-manufactory, eſtabliſhed in 1757. The number of houſes here are 470. The church and fine manſion of Jacob Twerdiſchef, who is principal director of all the numerous iron-manu⯑factories erected by his relations in the diſtrict of Oren⯑burg, are built only of wood, but the ſtorehouſes and forges are built with ſtone. The works here are all forti⯑fied, conſiſt of a double furnace, four forges, fifteen hammers, and an anchor-forge; beſides theſe, there is a common forge, two furnaces to heat the bars, and a ſaw-mill. They melt here annually 200,000 puds of [51] raw iron to ſupply the hammers. They fetch the ore thirty miles in the winter-time, and it yields fifty-ſix puds per hundred and more of raw iron: of this they manu⯑facture here 80,000 puds in bars, and the reſt is con⯑veyed to the other manufactories I have mentioned. All theſe are conveyed together to a newly erected manu⯑factory of three hammer-mills, and a ſaw-mill, with 120 houſes on the river Jurjus, where in ſpring it is put on board veſſels built on purpoſe, and carrying each 6000 puds.

‘Dr. Pallas now proceeds to deſcribe two or three caverns in the lime mountains of Ural, which he vi⯑ſited, and this he does with the knowledge and accu⯑curacy of a philoſopher, but as they are not by far ſo wonderful and curious as our caverns in the peak of Derbyſhire, which have been often deſcribed, I truſt my readers will conſent to paſs them over.’

On the 20th of May, ſays our author, I arrived in the village of Niſſebaſch, upon a brook of the ſame name. Here are a people called Meſtſcheraks, who, as often as required, are obliged to do the ſame military duty with the Coſſacks; theſe emigrated eight years ſince from a ſtation on the river Ufa, into this diſtrict, and proſper exceedingly well, having a tract of fine, ara⯑ble land, ſituated between the mountains about the ri⯑ver Jurjus. Having ſettled among ſome Baſkirians, they pay them an annual rent of twenty-five co⯑pecks, [52] or 18. Engliſh each family, for as much land as they can or will cultivate, beſides paſture and wood. On the ſame footing are all other Tartarian villages that are eſtabliſhed in the country of the Baſkirians. The ſoil is here quite black and fertile to the utmoſt degree, and never needs manuring. Theſe Meſtſcheraks en⯑cloſe their fields with hedges, and let their cattle run upon the lay fields. They turn up every new piece of ground with a Tartarian plough, but if the weather be dry, they put from four to ſix horſes to it. In moiſt weather, and on all other occaſions they uſe the Ruſſian plough. In ſuch new ground, the firſt year they ſow hemp, and bear-barley. This barley produces ten or fifteen fold. Every ten or twelve years they leave a field and ſeek a new one. They carry on a conſiderable corn trade with the iron-manufactories, and breed a great many cattle and bees. The country here abounds with foxes and martens, and I ſaw a particular invention for catching woodcocks in winter, which deſerves notice.

Before I leave theſe Metſcheraks, I muſt obſerve that the women differ in dreſs from the Tartars, with whom they have the ſame language, the ſame manners, and the ſame Mahomedan religion. I ſpeak not of the men, for all the men in this country dreſs nearly alike. The reader I truſt will form a better idea of their dreſs from the plate, than from any deſcription I can give. I ſhall only remark, that the form of the cap, orna⯑mented in front with ſilver coins, and beads of co⯑ral, is the ſame with that of the Ufian Tartars; the principal difference is in the veil which hangs down from the hind part of the head, and in the wide ſleeves.

Having heard of a burning mountain in the ad⯑joining diſtrict of the Murſalarſkian Baſkirians, I went twelve miles to ſee it. This mountain is ſituated on a bend of the river Jurjuſen. It is a very ſteep one, and covered with wood, but on three of the higheſt [54] parts, near a ſouthern precipice, are ſeveral, bare, red⯑diſh ſpots, which ſpots are burning, and we drew near the place by a very dangerous path. Every thing here was flouriſhing, to which [...] burning of this moun⯑tain, and the heat it ſpreads around, muſt undoubtedly contribute.

On the eaſtern ſide which is now the burning ſide, the mountain ſeems to be 100 fathoms in perpendicular height. It has burnt on the eaſtern ſide only for the laſt three years, and that leſs violently than in the middle height, the whole ſouthern ſide being burnt out; for the ſubter⯑ranean fires have exiſted about twelve years. A ſen⯑ſible Baſkirian gave me the following cauſe of it. Ele⯑ven or twelve years ſince, a tall pine-tree that ſtood weſtward, quite at the bottom of the middle part of the mountain, was fired by lightning, which conſumed the very roots of the tree, and thus penetrating the body of the mountain, it has ſince burnt inwardly, with⯑out interruption; yet ſo that the fire has ceaſed at the bottom, and yet is far from having reached the top. The whole ſouthern ſide, now bare, he told me was once, like other parts, overgrown with trees and buſhes, which have been conſumed as far as the fire reached; namely, a ſpace, of which the ſmalleſt diameter muſt be 70 fathoms, the greateſt 100 and upwards. The fire alſo communicated to an adjacent ſpot on the weſ⯑tern ſide, but is there extinguiſhed, and the place is now overgrown with all ſorts of plants, particularly [55] the fragrant dame's violet (heſperis Siberica) the lupin, after and wild liquorice (aſtralagus), The eaſtern part to which the fire paſſed three years ago, through a ſmall part of the valley, then covered with birch-trees, is now quite green again, but yet burns with great violence, and exhibits almoſt as large fire-ſpots as the middle part of the mountain.

The ſtone of which this mountain conſiſts, eſpe⯑cially in thoſe ſpots which are burnt out, is partly a reddiſh ſlate, and ſonorous, yet ſeems to be a kind of lime-ſtone, and partly a ſoft, conſumed ſtone, di⯑vided into thin, foliaceous layers, between which there appears to have been ſome other matter, now burnt to aſhes. In the eaſtern part, where I ordered, the men to dig, as deep as the heat would allow, I found the ſtone in coarſe layers, but the deeper we went, the finer and looſer it was. The layers ſeemed to incline from weſt to eaſt, though in general I could find no determinate order, owing to the ſinking of the ground in ſuch conſumed ſpots. In many places I met with a yellow ochre iron-ſtone, and at the bottom of the eaſtern part lies every where, between the ſtones, a light, red, friable marle. The burning ſpots are full of large clefts and crevices, ſo that it was dangerous to walk on them. In ſome places the men ſunk into the ſoft, burnt ground up to the knees, and could ſcarce get out again, without feeling the fire. From the open clefts riſes continually a burning, hot vapour, which no [56] one could put their hands near, and which on throwing birch-bark, or dried chips into it, they immediately caught fire. During ſtormy and gloomy nights, red, thin flames or fiery vapours, riſe to ſome height, yet there is no ſulphureous ſmell, or coal-like vapours; the exhalation which riſes communicating, no other ſenſa⯑tion than that ſuffocating heat, which iſſues from a hot glowing oven, after the embers have been cleared out. As deep as we dug, there was no ſmell, though we dug till the ſtones were hot enough to hiſs with any moiſ⯑ture, and burn the wooden ſpades.

Not only on the outſide, but within the burnt ſpots, the ground was cold, and the common orach was growing on the places. The bottom of the middle part of the mountain was covered with luxuriant herbage, which, as the Baſkirians told me, was not the caſe, before it's burning. We ſaw a great number of adders about the place, which were here before it caught fire. The Baſ⯑kirians aſſured me, that, during winter, no ſnow would lie on it, that the ſoil was always green, and had plants in flower through the whole winter.

On the oppoſite ſhore of the Jurjuſen, is another curioſity. A little brook comes down a height adjacent to the river, and throws itſelf, after a courſe of ſixty fathoms, with a ſteep fall into the river, and in that little ſpace of ſixty fathoms, turns four mills.

[57]In paſſing over a woody mountain, I could not but take notice of the vaſt number of large and tall pine-trees and aſps, either broke, leaning, or torn up by the roots by a hurricane, that had raged for five days together. The wool of the aſp might be gathered here in great abundance, if the people were not ſo in⯑dolent; the branches might be lopt and carried to the houſes, and when dry, the wool will ſhake off. It may be worth the attention of a ſpeculator, whether aſp-wool in the common way, would not be a good ſubſtitute for foreign cotton, and as it has a much better gloſs, and is conſiderably finer than cotton, it deſerves an attentive trial. I mentioned this to a learned friend, and he told me he had tried a ſimilar experiment, with the wool of the willow (Epilobium) and it had ſuc⯑ceeded beyond his expectations.

I next paſſed an extenſive manufactory of iron, where they make bars, and caſt veſſels, belonging to a merchant, who employs 1800 men conſtantly, and 500 more occaſion⯑ally. The ore they uſe here is at the diſtance only of twelve miles, and produces half it's weight in good raw iron, which does not loſe a third part under the hammer. The bar-iron here manufactured, is ſo tough, that it will bear the hammer without heating, and they ſend away annually above 100,000 puds, in barges that carry 7000 puds each, to different ſea⯑ports and places of the empire. Here I ſaw them catching vultures by means of fall-traps, faſtening live [58] pidgeons as baits. Theſe vultures are ſent in great numbers to the Imperial court.

Travelling on, the chief of a neighbouring village came up to us with a large body of armed Baſkirians, to ſerve as an eſcort, but we declined his polite offer, as unneceſſary. On account of the troubles which aroſe this ſpring on the frontiers of the Kirgniſians, every Baſkirian had been ordered to be armed with lances, bows and arrows, for they are not allowed to carry any fire [...]ms. Thoſe who inhabit the eaſtern part of the Ural and moſt of the provinces of Iſerſkaja, are much more ſubſtantial than any I have met with before. The excellent paſture in this diſtrict, gives them a fine opportunity to breed horſes; and it is not rare to ſee ſome perſons who poſſeſs from 2 to 4000 pieces of this land. In ſhort, this ſtep is ſo rich in wholeſome and nouriſhing paſture-plants, that it is pity but ſuch as ſow artificial graſſes, and make meadows, could get the ſeed from this part of the world. The Eſparcette, and Redyſarum of the Alps, beſides innumerable ſpe⯑cies of trefoil, codded plants, mugworts, and ſtar⯑worts, are univerſal here, and they will agree with every climate.

The natural indolence of the Baſkirians prevents their providing any ſtock of hay for the winter, of courſe they turn out their horſes on the ſtep, and oblige them to ſearch for their food, by ſcraping off the ſnow, [59] and if, as it often happens, a thaw ſhould follow the firſt ſnow and cover the ground with ice, theſe poor creatures are almoſt without food, and become miſe⯑rably lean; ſo that it is wonderful that under theſe cir⯑cumſtances, they ſhould breed ſo fine horſes as they do; eſpecially when it is conſidered that they deprive the colts of great part of their nouriſhment, by milk⯑ing the mares for kumyſs, and tying the colts all day to a ſtake.

In many parts of this province the Baſkirians keep camels, but in ſmall numbers, as theſe animals were taken off by a diſtemper that raged among the great cattle a few years ſince. The fact is, that the paſture of the country, and the ſevere winters, do not agree with the conſtitution of this animal. They breed alſo very fat ſheep. Beſides their wealth in cattle, they are great huſbandmen; they ſow nothing however but ſum⯑mer-corn, barley and oats, and ſeldom more than they want for their winter-proviſion, added to their ſmoked cheeſe or krut; for as their cattle yield but little milk at that time of the year, and they have no kumyſs, they would do very ill without krut. They aſſured me, in general, that if a perſon gets drunk with good mare's milk, kumyſs, he will not have the leaſt appetite till the third day after; for this reaſon, they uſe it in ſummer, as their chief food.

[60]The dreſs of the Baſkirian women on this ſide of the Ural, has ſomething more elegant in it than the cuſ⯑tomary dreſs of this nation. The habit is made of linen worked about the neck and wriſts, the cap or Tſchaſchbau decorated with ſilver coins, and other parts of their dreſs are the ſame with that of other Baſkirian women, but the broad ornament which hangs like an order on the ſhoulders, and conſiſts partly of coins, partly of coral beads, and ſeveral little toys, I never obſerved among other Baſkirian women. Here the women wear it from morning to night, and do all ſorts of work with it, though it is inconvenient and much in their way. Indeed they do not like to be ſeen without it. They call this part of their heavy dreſs, Dilbuga, and men cover the reins of their horſes with the ſame ſtuff; from which one cannot form a very favourable idea of the reſpect which the Baſkirians pay to their ladies. Indeed it is but little.

I now paſſed over the eaſt ſide of the Ural, which is very ſteep, and alternately cloathed with birch-trees and larches. We found here ſeveral ſtreaks of ore, of which the mountain is rich, and moſt of the ores con⯑tain ſome mixture of noble metals.

At the bottom of the mountain is a village conſiſt⯑ing of 100 houſes, inhabited by Baſkirians, and ſent [61] here to form a colony. They are ſubſtantial huſband⯑men, and ſow all ſorts of corn, except buck-wheat: the environs of this place exhibit many mineral curioſities, which, though not very conſiderable, deſerve notice. On ſome ſpots on the borders of the lake have been found ſome fine yellow topazes. Round the village one finds every where, on digging, an ochreous and ſhining ſtone, containing a ſmall alloy of gold. North-eaſtward of the village is a height of bare rocks, thinly overſpread with wood. The rock is in a ſoft ſtate, and full of gold and ſilvery brilliancy, the layers of which run almoſt eaſt and weſt. On the report of ſome Baſkirians, people were ſet here to work, and a ſoft vitrifiable matter overſpread with large purple-brown, irregular granates, and ſome other black mineral have been found.—The latter produced a gold alloy of five 8ths of a Solotnik, or dram, per 100 puds of ore. A little fur⯑ther weſtward, lies a black iron-ſtone, and at the diſtance of two miles, in a low, marſhy and ſalt diſtrict; under⯑neath the ground is dug a very white, though coarſe, earth, ſamples of which have been ſent to the Imperial China-manufactory.

On the firſt of June I ſet off from the Sawod, in purſuit of an allum-rock I had heard of, and croſſed a lit⯑tle brook in a ferry, which, though very narrow and ſhallow, is ſo rapid, that we were carried a great way down: we ſhould have paſſed it without a boat, but our horſes could not keep their feet, and when we got [62] on the other ſide, they carried us over a ſtep, but were too weary to climb a mountain beyond it, and it growing dark, we were obliged to put up with a very bad night's lodging. We choſe the upper rocks of the height we were in, as the drieſt ſpot of the whole diſtrict. We thought to have made a fire, but, by ill luck, had not materials to ſtrike a light. Vainly did we try to produce fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together; of courſe we were obliged to be contented with a dry ſpot without fire, and by means of our cloaths, and branches of trees, we formed a Baſkirian, travelling tent; underneath this we ſtretched ourſelves on our ſaddle-felts, and though this bed was very wet, the rain having penetrated through it, yet we ſlept perfectly ſound till the next morning.

At dawn we roſe briſkly from our reſt, and break⯑faſted on a glaſs of water from an adjacent brook, which would have been an excellent reliſh, if we had had a fire to dry and warm ourſelves; we therefore hoped to do it by quick riding, but even that could not be done, owing to the ſteep and ſtony ways, and the felled trees that lay in our way. At laſt we reached the al⯑lum-mountain, which was beautifully decorated with linden-trees, and all ſorts of fine plants, eſpecially three different ſpecies of lady's ſlipper. ‘To follow Pallas, in the deſcription of this mountain, would an⯑ſwer no good purpoſe.’

[63]From this allum-mountain, we went to another, where is an iſinglaſs pit. It lies on an elevated, rocky tract, conſiſting of a reddiſh or white, dry, and very brittle quartz, ſingularly ornamented with iſinglaſs, and covered with a glittering ſand, mixed with a red loam. In this very quartz we found the iſinglaſs in neſts, in various poſitions, forms and layers, com⯑monly very impure, and of moderate tranſparency, about a yard in length. The pit is in ſundry places fourteen feet deep, and the works are carried on at the expence, and for the profit, of the magiſtrates at Ufa.

From this place I turned back to take a view of the china-earth manufactory, erected ſince the year 1752, where the porcelain earth is waſhed and cleaned, and from thence carried to Peterſburgh, to be made into china. This manufactory is ſurrounded with a wall of timber, and has two cleanſing-houſes, a houſe for drying the china, one for the maſter, ten dwellings for his eighteen apprentices, and a neceſſary ſtore-houſe to depoſit the unwaſhed earth. A deſcription of this muſt be agreeable to every reader. To waſh this earth, which is dug about ſix miles off, and brought here, they have a number of veſſels, each about ſeven feet deep. The raw earth is firſt put into the large tubs with water, to ſoak, divide, and diſſolve; here it is left ſeven or eight hours, that all coarſe and ſandy parts may be ſeparated from it, which is ſooner done [64] if the weather is fine and ſerene, than when it is gloomy. After this, the earth is poured into other tubs, through fine hair-ſieves, where it is to ſettle again, and there the thin matter is ſtrained through taf⯑fety ſieves, into the deep tubs, in which the pure, white china-earth ſettles by degrees at the bottom, and the water is drawn from it by tap-holes, which are made at different heights in the tubs, till there remains a fine ſandy, ſediment; this ſediment is afterwards paſſed through three tubs, ſtanding upon each other; it is firſt poured into the upper one, and the earth there ſettling, the watery part that remains, is let into the one next under it; here it ſettles again, and laſtly into the lower tub. This is done that all the fine ſand may be depoſed from the water. This ſandy ſediment is next brought into a hot-houſe, and ſpread over a ſail-cloth, faſtened upon ſeveral cords on frames, in order that all the water may run out, and when the white, porcelain earth is become ſolid, it is made into large tiles of about twelve pounds weight each. Of fifty puds of raw earth, they make about eight and a half of pure china-earth, and they prepare here, monthly, between three and four puds. Every winter the prepared earth is ſent to the regency of the province of Iſetſkaja, from thence to the mine-office of the iron-manufactory of Blagodat Kuſchwinſkoi, and from that place tranſ⯑ported with the iron barges of the Imperial manufacto⯑ries, on the rivers Kama and Wolga, to the cabinet at Peterſburgh.

[65]The china-earth of this diſtrict, known by the name of the earth of Iſetſkaja, is of a beautiful white, and poſſeſſes every requiſite quality to make fine porce⯑lain.

My road led me along the borders of the river Mias, where we ſaw great numbers of buſtards, and beauti⯑ful red ducks feeding, which build their neſts in holes under ground. The latter bird quits this climate in July, as ſoon as it's young ones are grown up, and returns in ſpring with the firſt birds of paſſage.

I ſtaid ſome days in the fort Tſchiljabinſkaja, which is the moſt capital place in all the province of Iſetſkaja, in order to ſecure my waggons and baggage in this place, which I deſigned for my winter-quarters, at the cloſe of this ſeaſon. I ſhall therefore give a deſcription of it at the end of the year.

Having left this fort, I went to viſit the mines be⯑longing to Catherineburg, and began by the moſt ſouthern ones, directing my way to two ſilver-mines lately diſcovered in the province of Iſetſkaja. Having heard that one called Senarſkoi, whoſe works had been diſcontinued for four years paſt, was opened afreſh, by a perſon deputed by the ſupreme office of miners at Catherineburg, I went to it over Etkulſkaja Krepoſt. This ſtep is covered with trees, and bears the fineſt paſture, containing graſſes only proper to [66] Siberia. The whole ſtep of Iſetſkaja is full, in June and July, of large, yellow flies, different from the com⯑mon ones, only in being twice as large, and of a pale, yellow colour. They covered almoſt all our horſes, and in the neighbourhood of pools and lakes, the air is filled with them, eſpecially in ſultry weather, or when tempeſtuous clouds trouble the ſky. About ſix miles to the weſtward from the abovementioned fort, lie two lakes, called by the Ruſſians Gorkje (bitter lakes) on account of the bitterneſs of their waters, which formerly are ſaid to have been ſweet. Both lakes have reedy borders, in which we met with a great many curious ducks, not ſeen in any other inland waters of Ruſſia. Among them I remarked ſome quite black, called turpani, of which there are numbers here, and a very little, brown duck, with a light-brown bill, that ſwims with it's hind parts entirely under water. Theſe are very good divers, idle flyers, and very bad walk⯑ers. This latter bird, called from its voice, Sawki, is no where deſcribed; I have therefore given a repre⯑ſentation of a young one and an old one, (anas merſa). See the plate, and alſo the deſcription at the end of this volume.

The heat on the 12th of June was almoſt inſupport⯑able, and De L'isle's thermometer roſe in the after⯑noon from 110 to 105. The firſt cauſe of the diſcovery of this mine, was ſome pieces of a maſſive verdigreaſe, which were ſound here by a Tartar, who ſhewed the ſpot to a cuſtom-houſe director, in 1761, whoſe zeal induces him to find out all ſorts of uſeful minerals in the province of Iſetſkaja. He began that very year to dig upon the ſpot, and made a regular mine-opening; and as ſoon as they came to a certain depth, they found whole maſſes of lead; whereupon the proprietor made a report to the ſupreme mine-office at Catherineburgh, and ſolicited for a privilege to con⯑tinue the works, engaging to ſend all the ores which had any alloy of ſilver, to the manufactories belonging [68] to the crown. Further I know not. The mine-office, that year, deputed ſome officers from Catherineburgh, and the mine was worked till the year 1765, at the ex⯑pence of government, when the death of the director, and other unknown reaſons, cauſed an entire ſuſpenſion, and nothing ſince has been done. The miners ſent here, ſtopped only a few days, and did but very little; of courſe, I could ſee but little, but ſhall communi⯑cate all I was able to gather reſpecting the qualities of the ores.

On the whole, it appears that this is merely a clay mountain, in which the ore lies, ſparingly ſcattered in thin layers, and therefore no conſtant ore is to be here ſought as in the mountains higher up the river Oi. In this mine they have made but three ſhafts and a wa⯑ter-gang which runs to the depth of ſeveral fathoms. As the mountain is quite loamy and ſoft, to dig it was eaſy, but timbering it was more neceſſary, and of courſe more expenſive, for the men could not go on a ſtep without it. In the hard iron-ſtones there is a gold-coloured bright⯑neſs, and whole ſtreaks of a beautiful verdigris, alſo maſſes of ſolid copper. In the blue loam here dug, they waſh out maſſive veins of copper ore, ſometimes a fine glittering lead, and ſilver ſtreaks, which amount to a tenth part of the earth. Though the whole ſhewed no great alloy, yet they found a ſufficient quan⯑tity of ores, to make it pay for working. Springs, indeed, prevented their digging very deep, as they [69] could not be ſufficiently turned off with engines, but the water that was taken out from the mines ſerved to waſh the ore.

From the alloy of the ore we dug here, the following is a ſpecification. The coarſe, glittering lead with ſome verdigreaſe, produced 56lb. of lead per cwt. one pound of copper, and one ounce and a half of grains of ſil⯑ver; the fine, glittering lead 61lb. of lead, and one and three eighths of an ounce of ſilver; the beſt copper-ore yielded 23lb. of copper, and four fifths of an ounce of ſilver, in eight pounds of lead. The ſmall ore yielded but from two to four pounds of lead, the eighth part of an ounce of ſilver, and ſix pounds of copper, per cwt.

The other ſilver mine, called Kuckuſcha, is ſitu⯑ated at Kukuſchefſkoi, upon a height that makes part of the mountain Akembet-tau, which is rich with ores, gently riſing, and without much wood, and runs along the Ui. The mine lies about two miles and a half ſouth-eaſt from the river, and makes part of the Ura⯑lian mountains. The ores were diſcovered here about ten years ago, by a Baſkirian Sotnik, who revealed them to the late poſſeſſor of the iron and copper-ma⯑nufactories at Koſodurſkaja, who during all this time continued the works, and ordered all ore to be mixed and melted together. But another Baſkirian took the ores of ſilver alloy into conſideration, and upon his [70] report, the ſupreme mine-office ſent two deputies, who are empowered to keep all ſilver-ore for the uſe of the crown, and they pay a certain ſum to the proprietors, to pay the miners. As the water was very high in the gangs, I could not enter the mine, but had an oppor⯑tunity afterwards of inſpecting them properly. Be⯑tween two ſhafts is an open pit, in which the works were firſt begun, and through which the miners go in and out. The buſineſs is done by horſes, and ſome little dwellings are erected here and there for the maſter and the workmen. The biggeſt ſhaft was near ſeven⯑teen fathoms deep, but ſince they have improved the works, they have penetrated (in January, 1771) to a depth of twenty fathoms, and there found the ore richer in ſilver, and purer in copper. The ore is dug in a ſhaft that runs very regular from eaſt to weſt, and it's length above thirty-three fathoms. The ſtreak is ſome⯑times eight or ten feet ſtrong, and conſiſts of a white and ſat quartz, lying in a grey chertz, and cannot be got out, but by blowing it up with gun-powder. In the middle of the metalick ſtreak, the ore chiefly conſiſts of a beautiful lazuli and verdigris, and in theſe ores we find a blackiſh, glimmering, ſilver-ore, overſhot here and there with a copper-colour, which upon trial yields from ten to twenty-four pounds of cop⯑per, and one of quartz, to one ounce and a half of ſilver, per cwt. conſequently 100 puds of the better ſort yield almoſt two pounds of ſilver. There is alſo among this ore another brown ſubſtance, which may be ſup⯑poſed [71] to contain gold. During the latter months of this year, by conſtantly working, they collected from ſeventy, eighty, to 100 puds of the ſilver ore, and the pud might be valued on the ſpot, at from eight to ten copecs, each copec one halfpenny Engliſh.

There is little doubt, but this mountain might be⯑come more productive, if it was opened with a ſearch-ſhaft, which certainly would lead to ſome fertile diſ⯑covery, but as the matter depends only on the preſent proprietor, who ſeeks his own intereſt in procuring a ſufficient quantity of copper, of which there is no want, and at a little expence, he has not ſpirit enough to go further, unleſs he could ſee his advantage in ſo doing. It is therefore the buſineſs of government to take it in hand, and that 'tis their intereſt, is paſt a doubt, for, according to the opinion of a mine-officer, the whole, adjacent mountain, is full of ſilver-ore; and many other places within a little diſtance.

On the 15th of June I continued my journey to⯑wards Catherineburg. The uſual way to that place, cho⯑ſen by the copper and money-caravans from the manu⯑factories at Orenberg, go firſt to the village Karaſſy, but I went a mile out of my road to ſee the pits from which they prepare the porcelain earth of Tſchebar⯑kulſkaja. Since the eſtabliſhment of the china-earth manufactory, I have already mentioned, which is now about ſeventeen years, they have fetched the earth [72] from this diſtrict, which is found an ell deep under the ſalt, black mire that covers the ſurface. They find ſometimes ſpots quite pure, yet full of yellowiſh veins, but cleanſing it with their hands, and little, wooden ſpades, the remainder goes off in the waſhing. The white parts lie about in an ocherous, yellow and ſoft clay, Both the white and yellow earth when dug, look as if compoſed of little ſcales and folia, and when touched are very ſoapy, yet do not ferment with acids.

Each apprentice is expected to dig every day, in ſummer, ten puds of pure, white earth, which cannot always be done. They begin digging in the middle of June, as in theſe ſoils, adjacent to the mountain, the ground is often frozen an ell deep till towards the end of June.

In our way to the village where we meant to ſleep, we had to croſs the river Miaſs. There was no bridge over it, but as the river is commonly very ſhallow, our deſign was to ford it. However, when we came to it, we found it impaſſible; for the ſtorms and ſhowers had increaſed it ſo much, that it had tranſgreſſed it's banks, was rapid, and near ten feet deep. Our buſineſs then was to make a float, and a Baſkirian hut which ſtood near the river, anſwered our purpoſe; the float was made, and we got over. When we came to the village, the Baſkirians had left it, had retired, with their flocks, [73] into the cool mountains, and had locked their doors; but as a lock was no bar to us, we ſoon had poſſeſſion of a houſe or two, and ſettled ourſelves at pleaſure. Near each houſe, was a little, round oven, built with brick, with horizontal pipes, communica⯑ting with the oven at one end, and a hollowed pine tree, or cylinder, about ſeven feet long, ſet up on end. This is a contrivance to ſmoke ſheep and colt-ſkins. They hang a ſkin up acroſs a pole, on this cylinder, and then, by heating the oven with pine-apples, and foul-wood, the ſmoke iſſues through the pipes into the cylin⯑der, and ſmokes the ſkins; done prior to tanning them, in order to make them impenetrable by rain, and give them a fine yellow colour, on the inſide.

Travelling on, we came to the enormous lake Uweldi in Baſkir-Ujalde-Kuly. According to the general and unanimous calculation of the people, who inhabit theſe diſtricts, this lake, in circumference, is between thirty-five and forty-five miles, its length fifteen miles, and it's breadth nine miles, and they reckon ſeventy-ſeven iſlands on it, nine of them having lofty woods.

Here are two other iron-manufactories in our way, ſupplied with workmen who are obliged to work here for not paying the poll-tax to the crown of Ruſſia; the proprietors of the manufactories pay that tax for them, and have their labour. Four thouſand, ſix hundred and thirty-eight men are employed in theſe two ma⯑nufactories, [74] and they make, annually, 15,200,000 puds of bar-iron, which, in winter, is conveyed by the Ural to the river Ufa, and from thence tranſported at high-water, in twenty or more flat veſſels, to the Wolga.

The diſtrict in which theſe manufactories ſtand, be⯑ing, on account of the woody mountains, many lakes, bogs and ſprings, cold and wet, it is exceedingly un⯑healthy, entirely unfit for agriculture, and ſeldom a year paſſes but they have a diſtemper among their cattle and ſheep, terminating by an internal inflammation. Againſt this diſorder, they fumigate with the gum of the larch, and with ſucceſs. Every larch, by wounding it's bark, will ooze out a clear reſin, tough and yellowiſh, which, if freſh, poſſeſſes all the virtues of Venetian turpentine, and might be gathered for the apothecaries in all the mountainous parts of Siberia. This reſin fills ſo much of the bark, and the young wood of the larch-tree, and renders it ſo combuſtible, that there is ſcarce a young larch-tree to be found here, which has not received ſome hurt by fire, either by the burning of graſs, or ſome other accident; and in ſuch trees, the gum has a brown colour, diſſolves in water, is very like gum-arabick, and is known in Ruſſia by the name of Or⯑enburg gum. The country-people gather no more of it than they want for their own uſe, and aſſured me they made uſe of it as an emetic in cold fevers, and as an aſtringent, in long and obſtinate caſes of the fluor albus.

[75] Siſertſkoi. On the 19th of June I reached the manu⯑factory of Siſertſkoi, erected in the year 1733, on account of ſeveral, rich iron-ores diſcovered in the neighbour⯑hood and then called Imperatrizi Anni Sawoda. Here are an anchor-forge, where bar-hammers, and all large manufacturing tools are made, a ſaw-mill, two new hammer-mills, containing five bar-hammers, and one ſteel forge; another with three hammers, two plate-fur⯑naces, one for copper, the other for iron, and a high furnace which contains a foundery, and covered with an iron roof. Alſo a copper-mill, with two furnaces, and a bar-hammer, and two other furnaces for iron and ſteel; a well-built ballance-office, and ſeveral warehouſes for ſmiths. Here is alſo a fine free-ſtone manſion-houſe for the proprietor, an orangery, par⯑terres, and flower-gardens, and the houſe elegantly fur⯑niſhed. Beſides theſe places, there is alſo a work-ſhop where the neateſt joiner's work is made, not inferior to any made in England, and a manufactory where ſeveral ſorts of artiſts work in rooms allotted to them. One for drawing, in which deſigns, plans and models are made; one for lockſmiths, and coarſe workmanſhips in copper and ſteel. For ſteel they uſe here crocus martis, and though they have no poliſhing frame, yet the work⯑manſhip ſeems almoſt to excel the Engliſh. There is alſo another place for grinding and poliſhing-ſtone, and two others, for fine engravings, and other deli⯑cate workmanſhip, in coloured metals, braſs, ſilver and gold.

[76]The proprietor of theſe works has alſo a ſtud, in which there are eight, ſelect old, and five young ſtallions, and the tame and governable behaviour of theſe ani⯑mals, which are elſewhere quite wild and untamed, is ſurprizing. Oppoſite the ſtalls is a bathing-room to waſh the ſtallions in winter. Among his horſes is one remarkable for his elegant whiſkers, which riſe on the upper lip, juſt underneath the noſtrils, and is a fine mark of nature. He has alſo a menagerie, a collec⯑tion of animals, containing fifteen of thoſe tall ſtags, called in the country marali, and caught in the upper diſtrict of the river Irtiſch, ſome elks, roes, and camels which breed here, beſides a great variety of wild-fowls. I muſt laſtly mention his herd of ſelect bulls, which are kept for work, and though of Kirguiſian race, are, notwithſtanding, remarkable for their ſize, ſtrength, and beauty.

The place conſiſts of near 300 dwellings, and a church, ſurrounded with a fortification of wood. The proprietor is allowed 300 peaſants for felling of wood, and burning of coal for the mines. The iron annu⯑ally brought here is 1,000,000 puds, very good and ſolid, and may be caſt, raw as it is; it yields one-half pure iron, and is dug cloſe by. The bar-iron manu⯑factured here is conveyed in winter along Tſckuſſowaja, to the warehouſe eſtabliſhed about ſeventy-five miles from hence, and there ſhipped in barges, and conveyed down the rivers Kama and Wolga. Notwithſtanding [77] the antiquity of this manufactory, the woods round it are in a very good ſtate, and it ſeems as if the moiſt diſtricts, north of this place, along the mountains, were ſelected by nature for the production of reſin-wood.

The firſt eſtabliſher of this extenſive manufactory, was Lieutenant-General De Henning, who was, at that time, chief preſident of the ſupreme mine-office, at Catherineburg, and has been ſince one of the moſt con⯑ſiderable manufacturers for the ſtate, till the year 1759, when the trade ſeemed to diminiſh and was given up by him to the preſent proprietor, Mr. Turtſchaninof, for the moderate ſum of 200,000 rubles, with all the iron-pits and mines belonging thereto, and a conſider⯑able diſtrict of wood, beſides the maſters and work⯑men.

On the 20th of June, I made a little excurſion to an aſbeſtos mountain, ſituated in a ſtraight line, about eleven miles from this manufactory, though the ſum⯑mer-road, which I travelled, was near twenty-three miles. It was diſcovered by accident, about five years ſince. The aſbeſtos, found here, is a genuine plume-aſbeſtos and lies together in lumps of three, four, or more puds, (each pud thirty-ſix pounds), conſiſting of ſibrous cones, exceeding three feet in length. The plume-aſbeſtos, is a white-grey, very heavy and ſome⯑times has the inſterſtices of it's fibrous cones filled with a yellow earth, or earth of a lucid green. In the air, it [78] becomes very ſoft and almoſt like hemp, and in the pit, as if rotten. I found ſome pieces quite yellow, and ſoft as rotten wood. That which is expoſed to the air, a day or two, is ſoft and fine enough to make pa⯑per with; and I ſpeak it from experience, having tried it.

On the 22d of June, I viſited the famous, old and rich copper-mine, Gumeſcheſskoi, which might juſtly be reckoned as the moſt important and remarkable of all private mines in Siberia, had it not been ſurpaſſed by the immenſe richneſs of ſome new ones diſcovered in the mountain Werchoburtſkoi, of which I ſhall give my readers a deſcription; yet, on account of the num⯑ber of works here carried on and it's fine ores, it is the beſt worth ſeeing.

It being impoſſible to give a circumſtantial detail of the innumerable works which extend to a depth of twenty-five fathoms under-ground, and conſiſt of ſhafts, ſtream-works and different branches and tracts, I ſhall deſcribe only the general ſituation and quality of the mountain, the different ſorts of ores dug here and the chief works of the mine; and I ſhall be the more particular, as few of my readers, I preſume, are acquaint⯑ed with the contents of a gold-mine. This mine, then, is ſituated three miles from the iron-manufactory of Poleſkoi, which is a ſimilar one to that I have men⯑tioned above. The ore lies, generally, in a clay or [79] loam, which, being very ſoft, is attended with little trou⯑ble and expence in digging. The different kinds of loam here met with are, a yellow, white grey, one penetrated with vermilion, a brown earth, and, on ſome ſpots, a ſnow-white loam, much like pure, porcelain earth. It has been alſo obſerved, that there runs through the middle of the one containing loam, a ſmall mountain of the moſt excellent, ſnow-white and beautifully half-tranſparent marble, very fit for poliſhing, and running, according to the miners' language, from noon to mid⯑night. This mountain will produce excellent marble for ornamental architecture and is the more valuable, as none equal to it has yet been diſcovered in Ruſſia. Excellent ores are here found and dug up in large maſſes, either in ſoft or hardened loams. On the right-ſide of the mountain, they dig only copper-ore, but on the left, chiefly a heavy and rich, vitreous, ſteel-ſtone, mixed with green and other copper ſubſtances, which-render it unfit for any thing, The glaſſy ſub⯑ſtance, which compoſes moſt part of the iron-ore, is talcous and it's clefts full of a tin-coloured, ſoft blinde and often overſhot with verdigreaſe. They never dig this iron-ſtone, except when it lies in the way and it is neceſſary to remove it.

The marks they follow are, firſt, the cinnabar ſeen in the loam, next, a brown-black, copper ſort of earth, found in form of kidneys or eyes, very ſimilar to gar⯑den-earth, and which appears ſometimes ſolid, like [80] black chalk, and ſometimes ſmooth, like white lead, and, laſtly, the loam's appearing of a green colour. The above-mentioned vermilion, which is mixed in the greateſt abundance with the white-grey loam, makes it look like red marble, and contains ſo much copper, that when the tools, uſed in it, are brought to the forge for repair, it is impoſſible to harden them properly, on account of the copper ſubſtance which adheres to the iron, until the hearth has been ſwept and entirely clean⯑ed. If this vermilion is looked at with a candle or light in the mine, one may ſee on it reddiſh ſpots and intermixed, maſſive copper-duſt.

The moſt common and fineſt ore found in the mine of Gumeſcheſſkoi, beſides this coppery clay, is a ſolid malachites of two different ſorts like verdigreaſe: one is cruſty and, though but moderately hard, is ſuſcep⯑tible of an excellent poliſh, exhibits a moſt beautiful deep green and turcois-like ſtripes, wanting nothing but more ſolidity. This green cruſt forms itſelf very often about a grain of ochre and the clefts of large ſolid pieces often include a natural, chryſtaline verdigreaſe. The other ſort is plumy and like plume-allum exter⯑nally, tenderly rayed, of a deeper colour, heavier and richer than the former, and velvet-like on it's natural ſurface and, in digging, wears the appearance of ſatin. Both are found together in lumps, like large and ſmall kidneys, often weighing above eighteen pounds and taking on various forms. In the green cruſt, we may [81] often obſerve a ſparry, ſtalactical ſtructure and the ſpars are, commonly, bored through longways, in the mid⯑dle. Between the cruſt and the white, overſhot ſurface of this ſpecies, one ſees black dendrities, like figures of uncommon beauty.

Beſides this incomparable ore, which renders the mine more noble, one meets, often, with a loam-ore of a paler green, having the appearance and ſolidity of lime-ſtone; alſo, ſome quartz-like neſts, containing ores. Here, they dig a very curious violet, black, or granite-coloured, rich, copper-glaſs, ſhooting in ſhort, quadrangular pyramids, partly ſpread upon the quartz⯑like ſtone, or found in the clefts, and is one of the pureſt ores of the mine. On the red and hardened loam, is a beautiful, violet and reddiſh ſediment of la⯑zuli, ſometimes accompanied with plumy, copper⯑knots or maſſive tracts of copper. Once they found a pure and ſoft copper, reſembling a web and formed in flat, thin threads, like plume-moſs. Fine, maſſive copper-veins, are not uncommon, as I have remarked, in the loam, but, to my knowledge, they never found any large lumps.

It now remains to ſpeak of the works. The ſpace hitherto worked out, from the northermoſt to the ſou⯑thermoſt ſhaft, is about 150 fathoms. Within this tract, they have thirty-one ſhafts, to the depth of from ſixteen to twenty-five fathoms. As this mine is much [82] troubled with water, there are always eight engines go⯑ing, worked by horſes, for drawing it off. Theſe machines are of a peculiar conſtruction and cannot be kept a moment out of motion, or the deepeſt works would be drowned in a minute's time, and, for this purpoſe, they keep 400 horſes, ſix to each machine, relieved eight times every twenty-four hours. The ſtream-work, from the middle of the works, runs from the depth of nine fathoms to that of 350 fathoms, and above is thoroughly timbered, and every year re⯑paired. Through this ſtream-work, a timbered canal of about fifty fathoms long, carries off the water. There are here many ſhafts and pits filled up, and it ſeems probable, that they are the remains of the ancient works: for this very rich mountain has been worked by that nation unknown to us, whoſe induſtry and knowledge in mineralogy, I have had occaſion to men⯑tion before; and the ſouthern parts of the Ural are an evident proof of the ſame. The proprietor has a glove and a ragged, leather knapſack in his poſſeſſion, which was found laſt month in this mine, between white ſtones at the depth of nine fathoms. Both conſiſt of rein⯑deers ſkin. The glove is ſo made of the head of that animal, that the ears ſerve as a reception for the thumb, but both ends are open, ſo that the glove may be put on the right or left-hand. Notwithſtanding the humid ſituation, this glove has preſerved it's natural hair; but the knapſack, which is above two feet long and one broad, has ſuffered more from the ground.

[83]In this mine 200 men are conſtantly employed, and, beſides theſe, there is employ for 150 others, ſuch as overſeers, ſmiths, harneſs-makers, ſtable-men, and carters, who bring here hay, graſs, and timber, for they uſe here annually 5500 pine-beams. Beſides this, they employ, in winter, above 100 peaſants, who are obliged to work for their poll-tax.

Not far from this mine, are two quarries of marble, which have been opened a few years ſince, and from which the moſt beautiful columns and pedeſtals are made to embelliſh the imperial palaces.

A few miles from theſe quarries, are ſome old mine-ſhafts, running deep into a mountain, from which there was formerly dug ſome gold-alloy; but as it did not yield ſufficiently, when other mines were diſcovered, this was deſerted. But adjoining a fortified village, in the neighbourhood called Gornoi Stſchit, upon the river Uktus, where was an iron-mill, and next to Ca⯑therineburgh, the oldeſt belonging to the crown, but now neglected to give the young timber, in the vici⯑nage, time to grow, is erected ſome buildings for waſh⯑ing of the gold-ores, brought from Bereſoſskoi, con⯑ſiſting of two ſtamping-mills, and contrivances to ſepa⯑rate the gold from the earth with which it is dug. In theſe places the workmen, are watched and guarded, that they may not purloin any of the gold ſediment. With this ſediment, after frequent waſhings, there is a [84] mixture of ſilver and iron; the iron-duſt is taken from it by loadſtones, but the ſilver and gold are ſent to Peterſburg together, and there ſeparated. They pre⯑pare here, annually, upwards of 70 lb. of gold from the beſt ore.

Catherineburgh, June 23, 1770. I arrived at Ca⯑therineburgh on the 23d of June, towards night. This is a fine city, the reſidence of a ſupreme mine-office, belonging to the mines in Siberia and the diſtricts of Orenburg, Caſan, &c. I ſhall not enter into any de⯑ſcription of this place, it having been accurately and faithfully ſet forth by Mr. Gmelin, in his travels through Siberia; nor ſhall I ſay any thing of the manufactories there eſtabliſhed for the benefit of the ſtate; I will only obſerve, that the place has been ſince embelliſhed with many fine, private buildings, a church elegantly built of ſtone, that a copper-mint, which was then ſuſ⯑pended, is now at work again, and, that the iron⯑works of Werch-Jſetſkaja, which formerly belonged to Catherineburg, are now in the poſſeſſion of Count Woronzof. I will proceed then to give a deſcription of the gold-mines, at a little diſtance from the city, which I inſpected on the 25th and 26th.

In my way there, I paſſed another manufactory for waſhing of the gold, which conſiſts of two ſtamp-mills and other conveniencies. Here are employed thirty-five men, who prepare, every year, 90 lb. of virgin-gold. [85] This place is near ſix miles from the mines, but they are obliged to ſubmit to this inconvenience, there not being water any nearer. There are two other waſhing-places, beſides theſe, but not much nearer to the mines.

Gold-Mines. The mines of Pyſchma are, by far, the oldeſt of any gold-mines in this diſtrict, and were diſcovered in the year 1745. The firſt of theſe has eight ſhafts, but as the ore became wanting, without any farther hope, it was deſerted in 1765. A ſecond was then begun, but as the ore here is inconſtant, they ſeldom work in it, except when the miners can be ſpared from other mines. There is a third here, which has now five ſhafts and is very productive. Beſides theſe there are two other conſiderable works, which are not much attended to, owing to the inconſtancy of the ore; but it is not ſo with the mine Kljutkheſsko, which was opened in 1763, with one ſhaft, and has been increaſed with five others. The works run here very deep and are very much expoſed to water. This mine is very rich in gold-ſtreaks, one of which is com⯑puted to run upwards of ſixty fathoms, and it's ſide-gangs, or ſhafts, from twenty to thirty fathoms long.

Under the name of the mines of Bereſofkoi, is un⯑derſtood thoſe four mines ſituated in the neighbourhood of the brook and manufactory of the ſame name, and now in work ſince 1752. That which promiſes beſt [86] has thirteen ſhafts, the ſecond has ten ſhafts, the third has ſix and the fourth, four. All theſe mines are moſt actively worked and with the greateſt order and regula⯑rity. The ſhafts, ſtream-works and ſide-ſhafts are very ſpacious, clean and well-timbered.

The general ſituation and condition of the gold ores found here, are as follow. The metallick ſtreaks of the mountains are full of little, ſtanding veins, which run from noon to morning and fall into the depth in different angles, from ſixty to eight degrees, from midnight towards noon. It is not uncommon to find ſtreaks which form a croſs, but moſt of them are direct. Theſe ſtreaks which conſiſt of a thick quartz with clefts, are very diſproportionate in length and ſtrength. Some are ſcarce an inch, when others are more than two yards in thickneſs. It has been remarked, that a ſtreak, narrow in the beginning, increaſes further on, but thoſe which begin large, diminiſh ſoon after. They are, commonly, from eight to ten fathoms long, ex⯑cept in the mine of Kljutſcheſskoi, where they are much ſuperior and extenſive, and the principal ſtreak found in the engine-ſhaft, runs from ſixty to ſeventy fathoms through the mountain, and is found equally conſtant in depth. The little ſtreaks are, uſually, during the firſt fathom, the richeſt, and at ſeven, eight and ten fathoms, are always poorer in depth, though they run much deeper. Such an obſervation appears rather extraordinary. Where the ſtreaks end, [87] it is in ſmall filaments. It is generally obſerved, that the ores lie in a white or a white-yellow grey, mild, ſome⯑what fibrous, and glimmering loam, running from midnight to noon, from five to ten fathoms broad, and their length often extending to 200 fathoms into the mountain. This loam ſeparates readily from the veins, but ſometimes the ſtreaks are environed with a grey⯑red, ſpotted chertz, which cauſes a great deal of trouble to ſeparate them, and cannot be broke other, wiſe than by gun-powder. In this chertz or loam, the ſtreaks are ſometimes ſcarce half an ell, ſometimes three or four ells and ſometimes four or five fathoms diſtant from each other. On all ſides in the depth, the ſtreaks are bounded by a beautiful, minium-like, white and ſpotted, dry clay, which is here called the robber of ores. This clay yields a good, red colour, but when they come to it, no farther trace of the ore is to be hoped for; yet, there are ſome exceptions: for, in the mines of Bereſoſkoi, the ores are uſually found in the above-mentioned chertz, and it is attended with much trouble to knock them off. In the large ſtreak of the mine Kljutſcheſskoi, which I have mentioned, a red⯑diſh, ſandy and variegated ſtone-loam is the diſtinctive mark of the ores, and in the ſame mine, the gold-ore, in another ſhaft, lies in ſand-layers, mixed with quartz foſſils, but the foſſils themſelves ſhew not the leaſt alloy of gold.

[88]I will now deſcribe the gold-ores and other curioſi⯑ties dug therewith. The moſt common ore in all the mines, conſiſts in a dark or blackiſh brown, ſolid iron-ſtone, a ſpungy ſpecies, full of curious cubes, like dice, of which I ſhall give a further deſcription, ac⯑companied with, a fine, brown-yellow, rich ochre, won⯑derfully mixed and confuſed with quartz. In this brown matter and the ochre which accompanies it, the gold is interſperſed like a fine duſt. Even thoſe ores, wherein the gold-duſt is ſo ſmall as ſcarcely to be diſ⯑tinguiſhed with a magnifying glaſs, are not without gold-alloy, and with ſuch gold, the waſhing houſes or lavatories are chiefly ſupplied. The gold-alloy of the ſtreaks is not always uniform, but the richeſt ore breaks in neſts, though there is no viſible change in the appearance and condition of the ſtreak. There are al⯑ſo found in theſe ſtreaks, ſome very curious gold-ores of a particular ſpecies; among theſe, that which they call pumice-ore, deſerves a deſcription, as it often oc⯑curs. This is dug in large and ſmall cakes, or maſſes, in the midſt of the gold-ſtreaks, from which it is ſepa⯑rated by it's yellow-brown, ſandy rind. The internal parts of theſe cakes reſemble, at firſt, fine, ſpungy, white bread or pumice-ſtone, or, more properly, the tender, foliaceous texture of ſpungious bones, and is uncommonly light; for the matter conſiſts of the pureſt and moſt tender folia, which croſs each other and form little cavities, ſometimes larger, ſometimes ſmaller, and which, like pumice, will often ſloat in water. [89] The colour of this ſubſtance is white or yellowiſh, here and there overſhot with brown; and, ſometimes, it is found as grey as pumice-ſtone and of the ſame thick texture, and this is the richeſt ſort. Within the cells of this ore, the foliaceous ſubſtance of which ſeems to be of a quartz-like nature, a great deal of gold-duſt, as if powdered, lies ſo looſe, that if the ſtone was broke it might be ſhaken out. Of all gold-ores this is, in proportion to it's weight, the richeſt, and the gold-duſt may be plainly ſeen in it and waſhed out without any other trouble, and thirty-ſix pounds of this ore will yield from two to ſix drachms of pure gold-duſt. It is to be lamented, that it is not found very abundantly in lumps or neſts. Among the ſame ore, I found ſome conſiſting of a coarſe texture, here and there flowing together in genuine quartz and exactly reſembling worm-eaten quartz; and, among the ſpungy ſubſtances, ſome pieces contain, inſtead of gold, ſmall particles of blinde or mock-lead.

But the common, brown, blackiſh ore is, in ſome places, of a very ſimilar, light, ſpungy texture, and it's ſpungy parts over-run with lead-colour, but, neverthe⯑leſs, of gold-alloy. This ore breaks away in ſmall, regular, cubic pieces, like dice, of a ſpungy ſubſtance, a ruſt-brown colour internally, but, hard and ſhining on the ſurface, and each of their ſix ſides is ſlightly fur⯑rowed with parallel lines; but ſo that the ſides in con⯑tact have their lines always athwart or acroſs each other, [90] whereas, the lines of the oppoſite ſides lie in a ſimilar poſition. Theſe dice break away readily from the ore, and are found from one quarter of an inch and leſs, to two, but ſeldom three inches large. I ſaw ſome, the rind of which, or even part of the whole dice, reſem⯑bled a water-pebble. Sometimes ſtreaks of gold-ore are obſervable on their ſurface and gold-duſt in their ſubſtance.

Beſides theſe quartz-ſubſtances, there is found, in the gold-ſtreaks, topazes of various goodneſs and value, either ſingle or in cluſters. They are, ſometimes, ſe⯑veral inches thick in ſexagonal chryſtals, (the points of which are obliquely clipped,) which are either tranſpa⯑rent as water, ſmoke-coloured and more or leſs dark. In the engine-ſhaft of the mine of Kljutſcheſskoi, there is ſaid to lie an enormous maſs of topazes, which could not be got at on account of the water, but I ſaw ſome conſiderable ſherds knocked off with breakers, which appeared very clear and beautiful. They ſometimes dig, in the gold-ſtreaks, plenty of water-pebbles, ly⯑ing in quartz and, ſometimes, forming dice, and alſo a tin-coloured, radiant, quartz-like ſubſtance.

Beſides the gold-ſtreaks there are, in the mines of Bereſofkoi, ſome copper, lead and ſilver-ſtreaks, which, though divided from the gold-ore, run quite cloſe to it. They alſo dig, in theſe mines, a number of water-pebbles, overſhot with an excellent, dark-blue [91] lazuli, and alſo a remarkable lead-ſpar, which never has been found in any other mine of this or any other country, and of which the ingenious and learned Mr. Lekmann, has written a treatiſe. This ſpar is heavy, demi-tranſparent, ſometimes vari-coloured, ſometimes of a cinnaba-red, and found in great, ſmall, ſhort and long chryſtals, in the clefts of quartz and alſo in the ſand, ſtony matrixes, and in places where the ſpace would allow it, in a flat, cubic, priſmatic figure, with unequal truncated, two-ſided ends. Sometimes it is found on quartz, in ſhort, oblique and irregular pyra⯑mids, like little rubies. If bruiſed, it makes a fine, high-yellow fermentation, that may be uſed in minia⯑ture painting. After all the experiments made in the phyſical laboratory, at Catherineburg, they have ex⯑tracted from it a rich alloy of lead, amounting to half the ſubſtance and a very ſmall quantity of ſilver.

There is alſo found in theſe mixt quartz-ſtreaks, wherein this rare mineral is brought forth, ſome little oblong chryſtals, pointed at both ends, of a ſulphur-yellow colour, reſembling maſſive ſulphur and taken as ſuch by the miners, but it will not burn in fire nor burſt in flame, like the red lead-ſpar. This little chryſtalization is found both upon quartz and ſand-ſtone.

In all theſe mines they employ 500 miners, which are ſcarce ſufficient in winter, when the works are moſtly [92] going. Many more hands are required for ſelecting and ſeparating the ores, which is done not in the mine, but above, with hammers, and in this work ſome thouſands of peaſants are employed, who work for their poll-tax and, according to their age and capacity, earn from three to ſix copeeks a day. Theſe cannot complain againſt their maſter's oppreſſive conduct, a great number periſh by the ſcurvy and moſt return home ſick and heart-broken. They are only employed when they have no huſbandry to engage them, of courſe, aſſiſtance is moſt wanted in ſummer-time, when there is moſt work to do. The ore, which is ſe⯑parated, as much as poſſible, from the ſubſtance it is connected with, is divided into three ſorts and ſent to the ſtamp-mills, where it produces from forty pounds to half a pound of pure gold-duſt, in every 1000 puds of ore. In theſe mines are annually dug 200,000 puds of ore, the beſt of which produces a tenth part of the whole, and the three lavatories, or waſhing-houſes, extract annually from five to ſeven puds of pure gold-duſt, each pud thirty-ſix pounds, Engliſh.

On the 26th of June, I returned to Catherineburgh and ſet out, the next day, for Newjanſkoi, a diſtance of forty-eight miles, to ſee the oldeſt iron-manufactory in all Siberia, and which has been in conſtant work ſince the year 1701, where there is a wooden church with a ſtone-built ſteeple, 189 feet high, with harmo⯑nious chimes, an old-faſhioned but fine and ſpacious [93] ſtone-built houſe, with wings in which the proprietor lives, and many other buildings. Near the ſteeple, ſtands a great, caſt-iron column, as a monument erect⯑ed to the founder of theſe works. In a circumference of about ſix miles, here are 1200 dwellings and only 4000 inhabitants, the chief of them old, faithful ſer⯑vants and ſubſtantial people. Through the ſtreets run little canals, with a number of bridges over them. In theſe ſtreets are many ſhops where all ſorts of iron and copper-ware are ſold. Here is a foundery and two high furnaces, one of which is twenty ells high and has four double bellows, and can caſt 700 puds of raw iron in twenty-four hours, which is the largeſt furnace in the whole Ruſſian empire; near it are two hammers, under which the iron-ſtone is broke and carried, in pails, to the high furnace, where it is wound up into it; a bar-forge, with a hammer, and another where the large inſtruments, here uſed, are made; a building with two bar-hammers, another with four, two others with three each, an anchor-forge, a water-bellows and three others; a mechanical contrivance to draw out iron between rollers, and plate it; ſundry large hearths to heat iron, ſeveral tin working places, another bar⯑forge, where are four bar-hammers, a ſaw-mill, a corn-mill; a poliſhing-mill, where they poliſh bells and iron-ware; a houſe where bells are caſt, two build⯑ings for tinning iron-plates, one where copper-veſſels are made, one for forging mine-inſtruments and tools, and twenty-four forges where all ſorts of iron-ware is [94] made, as kettles, pots, pans, &c. and moſt of theſe works are worked by water. It is a delightful ſight to ſee boys, ten or twelve years old, working with their parents and earning a good ſalary. There is alſo here an old wire-factory, a new place for lock-ſmiths and ſundry other erections, all ſurrounded with a fortifica⯑tion.

This manufactory was founded by Akimfi Demidovf, a counſellor of ſtate, and remained in that family till it was ſold to the aſſeſſor Sawa Jakowlef Sabakin: it ma⯑nufactures, annually, 200,000 puds of bar-iron, beſides a vaſt quantity of all ſorts of iron-ware. The propri⯑etor of theſe works is the ſole proprietor of many others, nearly as capital, in the neighbourhood.

‘There are many more iron and copper manufacto⯑ries in this diſtrict, ſome whoſe works are more ex⯑tenſive than others, all of which Dr. Pallas viſited, but, as they are all upon a ſimilar plan, it will be tireſome to an Engliſh reader to repeat them, and, on this conſideration, we will paſs them over.’

At one of theſe manufactories, is a kind of beautiful Siberian cedar-trees, or cedar-firs, which have been planted upwards of forty years and are only five inches diameter in their trunk; but have born fruit many years. This year, they bore no fruit, and the peaſants told me, that their bearing is periodical, but I could [95] not learn, what this period was; ſome ſaid every fourth or fifth year, others every tenth year, ſo that I could not credit the aſſertion. This tree thrives beſt in the pathleſs mires of the mountains, and I am of opinion, that it's fruiting depends much on the moiſtneſs of the weather; for, proceeding farther in the country, I found, that, even in the preſent barren year, theſe trees, in the moſt watry places, bore the moſt fruit, and that it requires two wet years together to make them bear well. Of all inland reſin-trees, none, not even the larch, grows ſo ſlow as the cedar-pine; from hence one would conclude it muſt ſurpaſs every other tree of it's genus in hardneſs and ſolidity of wood, and in beau⯑ty of growth and appearance. But, notwithſtanding this, it is moſt certain, that the wood of the cedar-fir, if compared with that of other firs and larches, is ſoft and periſhable; but, in appearance, colour, veins and lightneſs, it is ſimilar to the pine and, of courſe, muſt be excellent for joiners uſe, and there are trunks to be met with in the mountains from which planks might be cut more than two ells in breadth; and I think they would make excellent maſts. There is no tree that can be imagined of more beautiful growth than the old cedars of this kind, no eye being able to deter⯑mine the loftineſs of their tops. The beſt idea of it's growth will be formed, when I ſay that, upon a young tree, the trunk of which was five Paris inches and four lines in diameter, I counted ſixty rings or marks of annual growth, the diameter of theſe of the [96] fiifth and ſixth year were only one and one-third of a line, and thoſe of younger growth, were no more in diameter than the thickneſs of a piece of paper four times folded. ‘How many years old then muſt ſuch a tree be and how lofty, whoſe diameter is more than two ells?’ I ſaw alſo a larch-tree there, only five inches, nine lines in diameter though, by it's rings, it, was fifty-nine years old.

From the manufactory of Newjanſkoi, we had in ſight the abeſtos mountain, which I determined to ſee. I accordingly rode there during a continual rain and was wet to the ſkin, it being at the diſtance of ſix miles. It is a long, ſteep, narrow, rocky tract, riſing in the middle of a wood, and the number of it's pits and openings made it dangerous to ride on; however I made ſhift to reach it's ſummit, and found it conſiſted of a hard, loamy chertz, the layers of which fall into it's depth under an angle of fifty-four degrees, from north to ſouth, and is chiefly dug up in pieces like a cuboides or trapezoides: within the layer of this hard rock is interſperſed, a great deal of greeniſh amianthus, which in the mountain remains firm and indiſſoluble, but by decompoſition, ſplits into ſtiff briſtles. Near this amianthus lies, generally, a fine ſilk-like aſbeſtos, (indeed the natives call it, in their language, the ſilk-mountain) of a yellowiſh-green colour, uncommonly glittering, it's threads running in a perpendicular di⯑rection. There was formerly a woman, in Newjanſkoi, [97] who had the art of weaving this aſbeſtos into incom⯑buſtable linen and gloves, and alſo made paper of it. ‘I am told that in India, they make ſheets of it in which they burn the dead and thus collect the aſhes, by unfolding the ſheet again when cold. Linen made of this mineral, will burn clean in an oven, like to⯑bacco-pipe clay.’ However hard and difficult it is to dig it, yet it's flexible fibres may be rubbed into a ſoft and ſilken wool, which can be twiſted into a thread and woven by means of oil, and be afterwards cleaned from any oilineſs by fire. But as the whole ſeemed to have no other object in view than to gratify human curioſity, thoſe who opened the pits, left off working them and it is ſcarcely exiſting in remembrance.

Before I leave Newjanſkoi, I muſt not omit to men⯑tion two manufactories that have rendered this place fa⯑mous in Siberia, and do honour to the memory of Demidorf. One is for the making of frames and wheels, two articles very much ſold here, and made of field-birch, having no oak in this country. It is indeed curious to the mind of a naturaliſt and worthy to be remarked how far this field-birch is ſuperior to foreſt-birch, in hardneſs and ſolidity of wood. I weighed a cubical piece of each, exactly of the ſame ſize, and found the wood of field-birch two ſeventeenths heavier than that of foreſt-birch. Such a difference may be felt with the hand. The wood of the former, when dry, even ſurpaſſes the oak. The ſecond manufactory [89] is that of varniſhing and japaning copper and iron tea-veſſels, wooden bowls, waiters, ctc. This is a very profitable branch of buſineſs. There is ſome part of this furniture to be ſeen, which rivals the varniſh of the Chineſe, and almoſt ſurpaſſes the French, except in paintings. The method they uſe is kept a ſecret among the workmen, and they take no apprentices un⯑leſs they are well paid; but I know, from authority, that the whole ſecret conſiſts in common linſeed-oil, boiled thick and blackened with wood-ſoot. They let the oil ſtand ſome time in a hot oven, in order to mix it well with the ſoot, and lay it thin over their work with their fingers; but do this eight or ten times ſuc⯑ceſſively, and after every time ſet it to dry in a hot oven; the finer and thicker the varniſh or japaning is wanted, the oftener it is to be done over. In order to put on the ornaments, they cut out flowers, fruits and landſcapes in paper, lay theſe figures on the varniſh, cover them with gold-colour, and then with the clear, linſeed oil again, without the ſoot, ſeveral times, dry⯑ing the veſſel each time as before.

My next viſit was to a tannery, where having no oak, they uſe willow-bark and the inner, brown birch-rind; but they prefer the former, and it takes a chord and a half to tan ten hides. I was alſo informed that the pureſt and moſt odoriferous birch-oil, which is almoſt as clear as linſeed-oil, is chiefly uſed to ſoak the ſkins: and this oil is drawn from ſuch pure, white birch-rinds, [99] as are taken from old birches, partly rotten at the root, ſo that there remains little but the outward, oily bark. All the oil burnt from freſh birch-rinds, to which a great deal of the black, bark ſubſtance adheres, is generally very impure with ſoot and very unfit for tan⯑ning. It is a wrong notion to ſuppoſe any wild roſe⯑mary or other buſh is burnt with the birch to give it a fragrancy; the purer and cleaner the birch-rinds are, the more fragrant will be the oil, without any other ad⯑dition.

In my way on, I could not but take notice, with aſto⯑niſhment, that the horſes we had with us, being hun⯑gry and towards night, wherever they met a helle⯑bore plant, (Veratrum), which was not yet in bloom, ſtooped and eat it greedily. The drivers of our waggons aſſured me, that their horſes eat this plant in ſpring without the leaſt hurt, and though it was hurtful to cattle in other places, it had no other effect on theirs, than ſometimes to purge them gently. Some country people, fond of chattering, who accompanied us from Newjanſkoi, made us ſpend the night very agreeably in diſcourſing on the ſtrength and efficacy of wild herbs and plants, one of whom ſeemed to poſſeſs an uncommon knowledge. He praiſed the Greek vale⯑rian, (Polemonium), as efficacious againſt the falling ſick⯑neſs, and called it Troizwetki, (three-coloured flower); the ſage-tree, (Phlomis tuberoſa), as a remedy againſt ſwelling of the glands in the groin; the aconite, (aco⯑nitum [100] lycoctonum), againſt ſinging or hiſſing in the head; the devil's bit, (Succifa), which grows very tall, as high as a man's head, and which he called pupownick, (navelwort), he ſaid was a ſure remedy in pains of the belly, ſomnolency and giddineſs of head. But his greateſt ſecrets, this country doctor ſeemed unwilling to reveal, however, with much perſuaſion and a good reward, he communicated the following, which, high⯑ly abſurd as they are, I will give my readers for their entertainment. The root of the ſky-flower, (Cinera⯑ria Sibirica), which grows in all the marſhy woods and conſiſts of many thick threads, under which name the marſh-marygold (Caltha) is alſo known among the country-folks as a domeſtic remedy, he declared would bring a man, dead drunk, to himſelf and quite ſober him, provided he drank no ſtrong liquor the day, he took the medicine, and that he had often tried it. His ſecond ſecret, moſt pernicious to health, is ſaid to be in uſe and faſhion among the common women in Ruſſia and Siberia; this is to prevent pregnancy, by taking a certain doſe of ceruſe, or white-lead, which is uſed as a paint, at a time a woman expects her menſtru⯑al courſes, which checks them and deſtroys concepti⯑on. It may anſwer the purpoſe, but the effect will certainly ceaſe, as ſoon as ſhe leaves off this dangerous remedy.

About twenty-eight miles from Newjanſkoi, I reach⯑ed, on the 1ſt of July, the iron-manufactory of Inſhno [101] Tagilſkoi, where all ſorts of iron-work are made, by water-mills, alſo joinery and turner's work. In this town, there is a beautiful, ſtone-built church, with a fine cupola and lofty ſteeple, having a complete ring of bells and harmonious chimes. The whole edifice is covered with iron-plates and divided into a ſummer and winter-church, embelliſhed with the higheſt degree of ſplendor and a variety of precious ornaments. Among the curioſities of this place are two enormous cubical magnets, which form the altars of each church; the one is five yards high, four and a half broad and almoſt as thick; the other ſeven yards high and five yards broad and thick, much penetrated with verdi⯑greaſe. They began to build this church in 1764. Here are alſo, a court of Juſtice, a comptoir, a fine, wooden manſion for the proprietor, a foundling hoſpi⯑tal, a drawing-ſchool, ſeveral neat apartments for the reception of ſtrangers and 1034 houſes. The male inhabitants are 2579, but they are all ſlaves, except 121. Among them are many excellent workmen and the proprietor may boaſt, that if there is any manufac⯑tory well ſupported with clever people, it is his.

The great bleſſing of this manufactory, is a magnet-mountain, within a mile of the place, added to a rich iron-ſtone ſoil all round, covered with timber. This mountain was diſcovered in the year 1702, by the Wogulians, and was opened in 1721. The manufac⯑tory was eſtabliſhed here in conſequence of it. The [102] mountain extends itſelf from north to ſouth, yet is, in the whole, conical, ſteep and it's perpendicular height about forty fathoms, or 280 feet. It is full of iron-ore, 100 lb. of which yield 60 lb. of fine, pure iron. The magnets which are here found abundantly are chiefly among the meaneſt iron, about thirty fathoms deep and, in their clefts, overſhot with verdigreaſe.

The mountain is, at preſent, divided into three dif⯑ferent manufactories, thoſe of Tagilſkoi, Newjanſkoi and Rewdinſkoi. Since the eſtabliſhment of the ma⯑nufactory of Tagilſkoi, it has dug many millions of puds for it's ſhare, and a great deal from the bottom of the mountain. They continue the works with great regularity in the form of ſtreets, and having taken off the upper ore, the under is eaſily dug, and they em⯑ploy three or four hundred little boys and girls, who earn three copeeks, or three half-pence a day each, be⯑ſides men. The ore is collected in large heaps, curiouſly underlaid with timber ſo as to burn, fired and roaſted on the ſpot. Such a heap will contain 400,000 puds of ore, will often burn forty days and require eight or ten weeks to get cold again. The ore is rendered fluid by this ſtrong burning, and is knocked in pieces with ſhort-helved hammers. The whole mountain is covered with firs and birches, and at it's marſhy bottom grow young cedars, carefully hedged in.

[103]I left Tagilſkoi in a delightful, ſerene night, to viſit other manufactories, that lie more to the northward, down the river Tagil, and paſſed an intrenchment, ſaid to be thrown up by Jermak Timofejef, who is generally known to have been the firſt conqueror of Siberia, and who, after penetrating the country from the Tſchuſ⯑ſowaja into the Serebrjanka, as far as the brook Kokui, is ſaid to have erected here winter-tents; but after he had marched over the mountains to the Tagil, halted and threw up this intrenchment, reſting here in order to build new veſſels. There, however, is nothing to be ſeen but a rectangular ditch, two fathoms broad, conſtructed on an elevated cape, ſcarce five fathoms from the river. It's northern flank is fourteen fathoms long and it's eaſtern not much above ten, with two or three caves or ſubterranean dwellings within.

A few miles from this is a copper-mine and alſo an iron one, and a manufactory eſtabliſhed near them, now belonging to the crown. The number of houſes is not very great, and the works are performed by peaſants, who labour for their poll-tax. But three neighbouring towns are obliged to ſend 7,500 people, who are employed in felling of wood, burning of coal, digging, &c. as the manufacturers cannot be ſpared for ſuch kind of labour.

Adjoining, is a mountain full of iron-ore, with a ſummer-houſe on the top, to which I went on the 3d [104] of July, to ſee the proſpect, which was extenſive and beautiful, commanding the view of many mountains and the courſe of the Ural, at about fifteen miles diſ⯑ſtance. This mountain produces annually 2,000,000 puds of iron-ſtone, and yet this quantity is conſidered as very trifling.

Of all the Siberian manufactories, Kuſchwinſkoi is the firſt where agriculture has taken place. By the laudable regulations of Aſſeſſor Alexey Moſkwin, the inhabitants, for ſome years, have grown their own wheat, and the crops here were very promiſing, not⯑withſtanding the cold, woody and mountainous ſitua⯑tion of this diſtrict. About the Kuſchwa, the cedars begin to be very abundant, and the foreſts, on the un⯑inhabited mountain, full of wild animals. Sables are ſeldom caught here alive, as the peaſants take them quite young from their neſts; but there is plenty of boars, hyaenas and wolves. They catch here a great many ſtriped ground-ſquirrels, which dwell every where throughout the fir, pine and cedar-woods, and chiefly live on the ſeeds of trees; they climb the trees, but make holes and proviſion-chambers in the ground, in which they lie in winter, carrying thither, by means of the bags in their cheeks, all ſorts of ſeeds. Notwith⯑ſtanding the beauty of their furs, and they might eaſily be caught by children, they care little about them. This animal is to met with, in ſummer-time, in all the reſin-woods, from the Kama throughout Siberia, and is a prey to ſables and other ſpecies of weaſels. [105] During winter, they hide themſelves in holes under⯑ground, live there on the proviſions they collect in ſum⯑mer, and though covered with deep ſnow, are never benumbed by the cold or thrown into a torpid ſtate as the marmottes. The mole is common in this diſtrict and remarkable for it's uncommon great ſize, and, ſometimes, for it's ſnowy whiteneſs.

‘The roads in this country are, in ſome places, very paſſable, in others, almoſt impaſſable. Round the manufactories they are kept in repair, and bridges are thrown over the rivers; in other places, they are to be croſſed only by fording, or on rafts. Dr. Pallas rode chiefly on horſe-back, his baggage following him or meeting him at certain places, ſometimes in waggons and ſometimes on pack-horſes.’

The Siberian plough, which is here uſed and throughout Siberia, is without wheels, like the Ruſ⯑ſian, and has only a croſs pole with handles, a pair of ſhafts, within which the horſe walks, and a bent plough-handle fixed before, with a double or ſingle coulter. It is a heavy inſtrument and far from a con⯑venient one. They uſe the Finland harrow as being ſtrong and fit for ſtony ground. Huſbandmen, in winter, are chiefly employed in hunting ſables and martens, with ſnow-ſhoes and terrier dogs, and commonly ſhoot them with balls and blunt arrows, from trees. Hunt⯑ing the ſable is more difficult than that of the marten, [106] which, as ſoon as purſued by the hounds, climbs up a tree and is eaſily killed, but the ſable runs for it and endeavours to deceive his purſuers like a hare and, at laſt, when he ſees no other refuge, takes to the trees and there meets his deſtruction.

In my journey I arrived, on the 5th of July, at a place called Jelkina, ſettled by Woguls, on both ſides of the Tura. Theſe people neither practiſe huſbandry nor breeding of cattle, but live merely by hunting. In other reſpects, they perfectly imitate the Ruſſians, in their habitations, dreſs and way of living, and ra⯑ther make uſe of the Ruſſian language than their own; indeed they ſeem aſhamed to ſpeak their mother⯑tongue before a Ruſſian. They have, for many years, been converted to the Greek church, but yet remain very dull and ignorant chriſtians. I changed horſes here, (but had ſome difficulty to do it, as ſome of the inhabitants keep only one horſe between two) and took with me ſome guides to ſhew me the places where they dig jaſper and vari-coloured marble. Cloſe to this place I was obliged to ford the river Iſs, called, in Wogul language, Aſs, and ſoon after having croſſed a lofty mountain, rode through a tract, along the river Tura, where the graſs ſtood ſo high as to paſs over the horſe and it's rider. When we reached the marble⯑quarry, it became dark, but as the ſpot was dry, I re⯑ſolved to ſpend the night here, which was very ſerene and, of courſe, we had no covering but the vaulted [107] ſky: yet, as the night was froſty and we were expoſed to the wild boars, it was neceſſary to light a fire, which our Wogulians did with uncommon agility; not with brimſtone, for it's vapour and ſmoke is apt to drive a⯑way wild animals to a great diſtance, and injurious to to the hunter, but they carry with them a handful or two of that ſoft, faded graſs, which the rivers throw out, dried in their boſom, lay the kindled birch-ſpunk upon it, (which is a kind of fungous that grows on the birch tree and holds fire), and lift it towards the wind, or blow it with their mouth, till it flames. The Ruſſians have adopted the ſame, and call the graſs Puiſchekcha.

Riſing in the morning from my airy couch, I con⯑ſulted my guides, and they led me through a marſhy pine-wood, where the trees were ſo thick and the ground ſo miry, that our cloaths were torn, our faces ſcratched and our horſes, every now and then, up to the ſaddle in mire. There was no plant to be ſeen here, except the mountain chickweed, (Moehringia and Linnaea), which I often curſed in this diſtrict, it's bloom being always here a token of moſt impervious mires and impenetrable pine-woods.

In this unpleaſant ſituation I rode the whole forenoon, and at laſt, paſt, with a great deal of trouble, two miry brooks and came into a woody tract, burnt out to the diſtance of ſome miles ſquare, where a tempeſt, or as [108] the Woguls call it, an evil ſpirit had raged in ſuch a manner, that it could not have looked more terrible had it been done by an enemy; but the worſt was, that we loſt our path among the felled trees, that laid a⯑croſs the road, and the ſwampy mire that ſcarce had a bottom; yet the Woguls truſted to their geographical knowledge and were convinced they ſhould find the right path through this wilderneſs: Not diſpoſed to return back, I allighted and led my horſe by the bri⯑dle, ſkipping and jumping over the trees, and ſome⯑times up to my knees in mire; but as there was no danger of breaking our necks or bones, we continued wandering through this wood, with axes in our hands, clearing a way before us for a mile and a half. At laſt, the courage and ſtrength of my whole retinue of Wo⯑guls and ſoldiers left them; this obliged me to halt, and I ſent two Woguls on before, to ſee whether they could find away out, but they came back frightened at the ſcream of an owl which they heard, without doing what I ordered them. At laſt, they confeſſed they had not paſſed through this foreſt for many years, and that they were entirely ignorant of it's extent and ſituation. Neceſſity, therefore, obliged us to go back and we croſſed the Tura, where the water came up to our ſad⯑dles and, at laſt, got to a village, quite ſpent by this miry expedition.

The foreſt, along the Tura, has, here and there, ſome cedars and a great number of tall larches, where [109] I met with the gum of old, burnt trunks, which I have mentioned. On one tree, I found a peculiar kind of gum and on it's rind a ſort of turpentine reſin, but on all other young wood, I could only meet with the re⯑ſin. The Woguls gather this gum and uſe it as glue, or chew it on account of it's ſweetiſh taſte, as a denti⯑frice for cleaning and preſerving their teeth. In this, they are like the Greek girls, who chew maſtick for for the ſame purpoſe.

Next morning I proceeded on my journey and croſſ⯑ed the Tura again, and paſſed two little villages. Every one was now buſy making hay, at which the wo⯑men and girls made a great parade. On account of the flies and gnats, which are very troubleſome, each takes with them a pot full of lighted birch, ſpunks or foul wood, which is rotten like touch-wood, faſtened on a board, in order to prevent their cloaths from catching fire. They prefer the ſmoke of birch-ſpunks in their houſes here, as it drives away the inſects and does not hurt their eyes. Without this ſmoke, there would be no reſt in theſe woody and northern diſtricts. They kindle alſo ſuch things and create a ſmoke in their yards, to which the cattle repair at night, in order to be free from the torture of the flies: as, at this time, it rains almoſt every day, and the cut graſs cannot get thoroughly dry on the ground, they do not make it in⯑to cocks, but in long, ſmall walls, erected between wooden poles ſtuck in the ground or run acroſs; in ſuch [110] walls the wet hay gets dry preſently and does not heat. Their ſcythes are like moſt Siberian ones. Their form is like a long, narrow and bent knife, faſtened on a crooked club, with which the mower, at each ſtep, cuts to the right and left, by ſwinging the club about in his hands.

Going on, we ſaw an impending hail-ſtorm before us, and I had juſt time to have a felt-tent raiſed, to ſave us from the wet. In our way to another iron-ma⯑nufactory, we had to paſs ſuch a wood, as that in which we were lately loſt. The horſes ſunk, every now and then, up to their breaſts in mire, and though we went very ſlowly on, were, every moment, in danger of being overthrown or loſing our eyes by the projecting pine-branches. The proprietor leaves the road in this bad condition for political reaſons, to deprive ſearch⯑ers of ore or inquiſitive travellers from coming to his mines. Some of the horſe and ſoot-paths are laid with birch timber and may be rode on with pleaſure, and ſuch-like roads might be made throughout the foreſt, at a little expence; but he took care to leave the moſt miry ſpots, where the mud is almoſt bottomleſs, with⯑out any improvement. It is in theſe very ſoft marſhy places that pines, poplars and cedar-firs grow beſt and moſt handſome, particularly where the mine is bottom⯑leſs. In this foreſt, I found the ſpurge laurel, (Daph⯑ne Mezereum), the red berries of which are here known by the name of wild pepper. The berries are uſed for [111] different purpoſes; internally, as an emetick for coughs in children; and, externally, to rub the cheeks with in the bath, which become red, as if inflamed by the ſharpneſs of the juice, ſo that the lower claſs of women uſe it as paint. The kernels of the berries are bruiſed and taken, by the peaſants, as a purge; a proof that their inteſtines cannot be ſound. The root, which is ſharper than the plant, is uſed as a remedy for the tooth-ach.

Wood-cocks, hares and ſables, are here caught by means of traps, called Slopezi, which, to break off a tedious narrative, I ſhall here deſcribe. A ſpot is choſen where the pines do not grow thick, and where two young trees ſtand at about ſeventeen feet from each other. From theſe trees they cut off all the lower branches. Near one of theſe pines a pale or poſt, about eight feet high, is driven into the ground. To this they faſten a pine-pole horizontally, ſo that one end ſhall be fixed to one tree and the oppoſite end be⯑tween the poſt and the other tree. Over this pole they faſten another, as a beam, almoſt parallel with it, ſo looſely fixed to one tree, at one end, that the other may be moved up and down between the poſt and the other tree, which is hewn ſmooth where the beam falls. This end of the beam is raiſed by a ſlight lifter, ſup⯑ported in a notch at the top of the poſt and it's end brought down by a piece of baſt, to the lower beam, where it is faſtened, with a wood-cock or a piece of [112] meat, by way of bait, ſo, as that when the bait is moved, the lifter loſes it's hold, and the upper-beam falls down on the ſable or marten, creeping on the lower-beam and catching at the bait, and thus kills it with it's weight.

Having inſpected all the mines and mountains in this diſtrict, I will now give my readers ſome account of the Woguls, who inhabit the foreſts on the northern ſide of mount Ural and are ſettled about the brook Targa, where I was on the 15th of July, and took up my night's lodging among them. The Woguls inha⯑bit theſe foreſts in ſingle families, and each family reckons it's diſtance and claims the land of the adjacent neighbourhood as far as they can reach in hunting. Having no other reſource to live on, neceſſity keeps them at as a great a diſtance from each other as poſſi⯑ble, for were they to live together in villages, th [...]y would not be able to find ſufficient game for their ſub⯑ſiſtance. Though moſt of them acquire a handſome property by catching of ſables and other animals, yet they keep no horſes, partly becauſe they have no paſ⯑ture for them, are unable to ſecure them from the bears and partly becauſe they can better purſue their game in theſe pathleſs and marſhy foreſts on foot. The richeſt among them keep a few cows, which always re⯑main with the women near the huts, and theſe are all the domeſtic animals they have, except a few dogs and of theſe a very few. Yet nature has aſſigned them a ſuffi⯑cient [113] property in the beaſts of the foreſts. The elks are their chief ſubſiſtence. Each family of Woguls makes an encloſure in it's diſtrict on ſome commodi⯑ous ſpot, which often extends to a diſtance of ſeven, nine or more miles, through the ſolitary foreſt, fenced in with pales made of ſplit firs and pines. They are very careful of theſe encloſures, and will not ſuffer any one to make hay, fell wood or take the game within them. At certain diſtances, theſe encloſures have openings, provided with pits and ſpring-bows, that kill the game as ſoon as the bait is touched, and catch whatever paſſes through. It frequently happens, that they catch, in theſe pits, female elks and their young ones, and ſometimes rein-deer, though ſuch are very ſcarce in this diſtrict. Their meat, which they never eat freſh, is cut out into long ſlices, and dryed without ſalt, either in ſmoke or in the air. This is their uſual food, which they eat either boiled or dry, out of their hands. Should they have the ill luck not to catch any game for a long time, and ſhould their proviſion be con⯑ſumed, they break the elk-bones, which are laid aſide, boil them in water, and make with them a kind of broth. But they are ſeldom reduced to this neceſſity, for, beſides bows and arrows, and guns, with which moſt are provided, they catch wood and water fowl; and thoſe that live near a river fiſh, with nets and baſkets, and, for this purpoſe, make boats of hollow trees, like the Ruſſians, or with birch-rinds, in their own way, ſewing them together with elk-ſinews and [114] tarring them. They know of no other meat, except cedar-nuts and berries, which grow in the marſhes. Notwithſtanding this, they are healthy and have not the leaſt ſymptom of ſcurvy, though living in a ſwampy and cold, woody climate. They are ignorant of the uſe of plants and domeſtic remedies; perhaps eating no ſalt and being accuſtomed to the climate, may con⯑tribute not a little to their health, yet they ſeldom reach an old age. They are fond of purchaſing from the Ruſſians, flour, all ſorts of things baked and ſtrong liquor. They barter with the Ruſſians, ſkins for cloaths, ſo that they are entirely ignorant of tanning. They work, indeed, elks claws with their hands and the fat of boiled fiſh, till they become ſoft, and of theſe they make gloves. They alſo convert the ſkin of the elk into long ſnow-ſhoes, or ſkates, like the Lap⯑landers, with which they hunt in winter, gluing the wet ſkin upon them either with larch-tree gum, or ſome other glue, prepared by them from rein-deer blood and flour, or elk-horn powder, which, mixed, is to ſtand one night in a warm oven.

The Woguls are, generally, a ſhort people, femi⯑nine and have ſomething in their faces reſembling the Kalmucks, except that their complexions are whiter; their faces are commonly round, and the women, whoſe favourite paſſion is love, are highly voluptuous. Their hair is generally long, black or dark-brown; few men [115] only have a thin, reddiſh beard and light-coloured hair.

The womens' dreſs conſiſts in white, upper-ſhifts, made of coarſe linen, which reach to the ground, and are tied round the waiſt. They hang a cloth, worked with the needle, over their head, hanging down the back, under which is tied, round the forehead, a black frontlet, decorated with beads. Their ſhoes are made of the bark of trees. Girls go bare-headed, wearing their hair, according to the preſent Ruſſian faſhion, braided into treſſes. ‘In winter, the women wrap themſelves up in ſkins, like the men.’

They have adopted many of the Ruſſian manners, even to their dances. Their own conſiſt in ſhort moti⯑ons of their feet ſet cloſe together, and two perſons dancing make little ſteps to the muſic in oppoſite cir⯑cles; ſo that one turns his back to the other, holding a handkerchief between them, uſing impaſſioned geſ⯑tures and expreſſive movements. The muſical inſtru⯑ment they uſe for this purpoſe, is a kind of harp, in form of a little boat, called, by them, Schongourt, ſtrung with ſix gut-ſtrings, twiſted at one end round a piece of croſs wood, and tuned by other little ſlips of wood. The player takes this inſtrument on his knee, beats the baſe with his left-hand, and the treble with his right. Their melody is ſimple but harmoni⯑ous, and in the Tartarian taſte. The Woguls are of [116] Finniſh origin and their language, as far as I could ſee by a dictionary made therefrom, is ſimilar to that of Finland. But they have many different dialects among them, and even the pronunciation, with many of the expreſſions of the Woguls, in the environs of the Soſwa, are already diſtinguiſhable from that of the Woguls about the Tura.

'Some authors,' ſays Tooke, ‘pretend that theſe Woguls are the brethren of the preſent Hungarians, and found their conjecture on the ſituation of the Wogul territory and the ſtriking reſemblance there is between the language of the two nations. This peo⯑ple was ſubjected to the dominion of Ruſſia at the ſame time with Siberia.’

‘The Woguls, Chriſtians as well as Pagans, pur⯑chaſe their wives, and the latter have often two at a time. A tolerably handſome one may be bought for the value of five rubles, and thoſe who cannot afford this, endeavour to ſteal a wife. Marriage takes place without any ceremony, the young man pays the price, takes the girl to his hut and goes to bed to her, and the next day ſhe is his wife. A lying-in woman is held to be impure for the firſt ſix weeks, all which time ſhe remains alone. The firſt comer gives a name to the new-born child, without any other cere⯑mony.’

‘Their burial-places are in the woods. They dreſs the deceaſed, put him between four boards and lay [118] him with his head to the north. The grave they call Vanka, and in it they lay a bow, arrows and other implements, without any other form.’

I could obtain no accurate or poſitive account re⯑ſpecting their ancient, religious opinions, becauſe they obſtinately deny the ſuperſtitions wherewith they are ſtill infected, and call themſelves Chriſtians. It is cer⯑tain, however, that they ſtill perſiſt in their ancient idolatry, worſhiping ſeveral idols, and particularly for the ſake of hunting. It is ſaid that they call on dif⯑ferent idols for elk-hunting, ſable-hunting, &c. and even bring offerings to the images of theſe animals. There is an elk-calf, (Wolenn), roughly carved in ſtone, near the habitation of the rich Wogul Deniſch⯑kin, upon the Soſwa, of which they relate many ficti⯑tious ſtories, about it's being petrified. Over it they have built a hut, to which the Woguls repair from the moſt diſtant parts, in order to obtain a lucky hunting-day, by their prayers and little offerings. They have, alſo, idols of human ſhape; ſome of them are carved in wood and have ſhot or coral-beads inſtead of eyes. About a year ſince, ſome ore-ſearchers found, in a tract of wood, between the Soſwa and the Loſwa, on a high pine, a caſt, brazen image of a human form, with a hunting lance, and this certainly was a Wogul idol. Before they were converted, they uſed to place their idols on ſteep, rock-walls, in rock-caverns or on high pines, that their worſhip might excite a ſacred awe. [119] Near the Loſwa, juſt above the brook Schaïtanka, is a cavern, in a chalk-mountain, renowned, to this day, for being a temple or ſanctuary of the Woguls. Se⯑veral bones of victims and ſometimes little images, copper-rings with carved figures, &c. have been found in it, which the Woguls purchaſe from the Ruſſians, and ſecretly adore as idols. Numberleſs brooks, mountains and places are called, in this part of Siberia, Schaïtanka, or Ichaïtanſkaja, becauſe the Woguls held there, their idolatrous worſhip and their idols, and are called indiſcriminately, by the Ruſs inhabitants, Scha⯑ïtan, or the Devil.

'Torim,' ſays Tooke, ‘is a divinity, under whoſe ſymbol they convey the idea of a univerſal god, the merciful Sovereign of the world. They have divers deities inferior to him and in ſubordination, and diſ⯑tinguiſh them by various names. The ſun they con⯑ceive to be the abode of Torim; but that orb itſelf is, with them, a divinity, as is the moon, the clouds and principal phaenomena of nature. The Devil, whom they call Koul, is, with them, of very little conſequence; they conſider him as a contemptible being, and ſcarce beſtow a thought on him.’

‘The chief feſtival of the Woguls is called Yelbola, and held at the commencement of the year, which is at Eaſter, and the feaſt is ſaid to be that at which God deſcends upon the earth, by which they mean [120] the return of ſpring. Another feſtival is Cenkobo; celebrated on the ſecond new moon after Yelbola. At theſe feſtivals, they ſacrifice victims, either a horſe, cow, ſheep, goat, or wild-fowl. Sacrifices for the ſick, everyone performs at home.’

On the 22d of July I viſited another magnet moun⯑tain, that which lies near the river Iſs. The magnets here are mixed with grey blinde, and are often found of many puds weight. I ſaw magnets of ſeven pounds that would lift and bear above thirty-ſix pounds weight; ſmall magnets that would raiſe twenty or twenty-five times their own weight, have been found here.

On my return to Newjanſkoi, and not far from that manufactory, I met again with that beautiful red-lead ſpar, which I ſaw in the gold-mines, and which has never been ſeen in any other corner of the world; and had now an opportunity of finding out the quantity of lead it contained. I made an aſſay and found that 100 lb. would produce about forty-three pounds of lead and about one grain of ſilver; whereas the raw clay, from which the ſpar was dug, yielded but ſix pounds of lead per cwt.

Auguſt 17, 1770. ‘There is nothing further in our Author's travels, that would entertain our readers or be any ways uſeful to them, till he arrived at Troiz⯑kaja Krepost, on the 17th of Auguſt.’ This is a fort [121] lying on the left of the river Ui, which ſprings from the Ural, not far from the ſources of the Jaik. The Uwelka unites with the Ui, about three quarters of a mile from the fort, and is much broader than the lat⯑ter, which here does not exceed ſeven or eight fathoms. This place, where the chief officers and men of the line reſide, is pretty enough; it is built in a ſquare form, with baſtions in the angles of it's wooden wall and rave⯑lins, alſo four towers with gafes upon the flanks, beſides a ditch, chevaux-de-frize and competent ordnance. Of public buildings there is a fine ſtone-built church, a wooden church, a manſion for the general, and ſundry pretty buildings, in which the ſeveral officers live. The reſt of the houſes are not in good condition, ex⯑cept that of the cuſtom-houſe-director and ſome new dwellings belonging to merchants. All the houſes, which amount to ſome hundreds, are built in regular ſtreets and the name of each ſtreet wrote on the corner, in black tablets. Here is a bridge over the Ui, whoſe oppoſite ſide, belonging to the Kirgueſe, has a well-built market, where trade flouriſhes with the Aſiaticks. It is an extenſive ſquare, built of wood, divided into a piazza and Bucharian market-place, on the left; an⯑other on the right, for the natives, and a large place, encompaſſed with great booths, for the trade of the Kirgueſe, beſides ſome baſtions and a wooden watch-tower, which commands a view over the Kirguiſian ſtep. It is alſo fortified with chevaux-de-frize and on three ſides, from the river, ſurrounded with ditches. [122] About the river are inns, built with wood, and eating-houſes, for the trading people and merchants.

I can ſay little about the trade here, which has been reckoned more extenſive and advantageous than that of Orenburg, there having, for a year paſt, been a miſ⯑underſtanding between the whole horde of the Kir⯑gueſe, who inhabit the neighbouring ſtep, and come here to trade; which miſunderſtanding has not only eſtranged them from theſe boundaries, but alſo deter⯑mined them to render the road of the Aſiatic cara⯑vans, to this place, unſafe; and it is but a few weeks ſince they ſent a detatchment of regular light-horſe in⯑to the ſtep, which went a great way without getting a ſight of a ſingle Kirguiſian; ſo that a reconciliation with this people is not ſoon to be expected.

During my ſtay here, the chief of the horde, called Ablai Sultan, ſent ſome deputies, but their propoſals and pretenſions were ſo exceſſive as not to be granted. Here is a ſtrong garriſon of Baſkirians, and a report of warlike preparations has made the Kirguiſian warriors ſo ſhy, that there is none to be ſeen in the whole ſtep, as far as the mountains. This has been confirmed by merchants who travelled from thence, and who were ſo lucky as not to meet a ſingle Kirguiſian: but an⯑other caravan arriving ſoon after, had not the ſame good fortune, but was ſtopped and detained by the Kirgueſe till late in autumn.

[123]As far as I could learn, moſt of the caravans come here from Taſchkent. There are but few Bucharians, and thoſe of Chewinzka are ſeldom to be met with. The goods, brought by the caravans, are ſpun and new cotton, coarſe and fine cotton-ſtuff, callico of dif⯑ferent qualities, of which that of Taſchkent is the beſt; they ſeldom bring India ones. Cotton and ſilk-girdles, printed cotton-curtains, table-cloths and ſhirts; a kind of bad velvet, curled and ſtriped lamb-ſkins; Turkey worm-ſeed and dried fruits; alſo Chineſe ſilver and Bucharian, or Perſian, gold-coins. The goods they carry back, are red and ſcarlet cloths, foreign velvet, camblets manufactured about the Jaik, all ſorts of light furs of different goodneſs, furs of the Wolga-muſk ſewed together, otter and beaver-furs for trimmings, Ruſſian-hides, black and red; of ſmall wares, iron-locks, needles, vari-coloured glaſs-beads, loaves of ſugar, paper, and colours, as, allum, vitriol, cochi⯑neal, brazil, indigo, orpiment, ceruſe, common pa⯑per, &c. &c.

The trade here, with the Aſiatic merchants is, in general, leſs than at Orenburg, and the goods brought here are of leſs value; but the barter-trade with the Kirguiſian Coſſacks of the middle horde, is far greater and of more conſequence. Theſe latter are not ſo much verſed in trade as the Kirgueſe of the little horde, who trade at Orenburg; their horſes and the reſt of their cattle are better, and the merchants here eſta⯑bliſhed [124] gain on both ſides; and add to this, that all Kirguiſian cattle are cheaper at Troizkoi than at Oren⯑burg. Oxen are more plentiful in this horde and, therefore, bought here in great numbers, and there are large and handſome bullocks among them. Horſes here are larger and ſtronger, but as wild and untamed as thoſe of the little horde. Sheep and goats are of the ſame form and nature; beſides theſe the Kirgueſe bring furs of wolves, red foxes, ſtep-foxes and little ground-foxes; lamb, ſheep and oxen ſkins, coarſe camels-hair, colt-ſkins, hair-lines, &c. &c.

In order to give the reader ſome idea of the luxury of theſe Aſiatic nomades and to ſhew their wants, I will add here a liſt of all wares and toys, which the merchants of this realm barter with them, at a great price, and for which they receive cattle, furs, and Chineſe ſilver, which the Kirgueſe get by their cattle-trade. Theſe goods are, ſcarlet and red cloths, from the fineſt ſort to the ſoldier's coat, camblets manufac⯑tured in the country about the Jaik, calimancoes, white and parti-coloured ſtuffs; napkin-cloth, Chineſe cot⯑ton-ſtuffs, nankeen, Chineſe and foreign velvets, old and new furs covered with ſilk and half-ſilk ſtuffs; good fox, otter and beaver-furs, for bordering of caps; thin ſilk cloaths, ſtriped and figured linens for cloaths; cotton and ſilk-girdles of Aſtrachan; hides and cordo⯑vans; all ſorts of female ornaments; treſſes, taſſels, fringes, breaſt-pendants, turned and poliſhed glaſs-beads; [125] pearls, a kind of ſnail-ſhells, called Serpent-heads; looking-glaſſes, combs, razors, needles, ſilk-yarn and ſilk-thread; ceruſe, rouge; all ſorts of iron-wares, as caſt and hammered boilers, ladles, trevets, chains, horſe-harneſs, locks, pad-locks, iron-traps, axes, knives of all ſorts, ſizars, fire-ſteels; buckles, iron, copper and tin-buttons; funnels, needle-caſes, ſnuff-boxes, pipes, tobacco, horn-caſes; alſo copper and tin-ware, raw and in plates; iron-wire, tin-veſſels, varniſhed and common cups; little trunks, with iron-bands; carts and waggons; materials for dying, as al⯑lum, vitriol, red-wax, ſealing-wax, pitch; groats, rye-bread and wheat, common tea, hay, &c. All theſe articles being moſtly inland goods, are ſold at a conſi⯑derable price to the Kirgueſe, and make a commer⯑cial intercourſe with that nation very important.

It being well authenticated that the adjacent diſtricts of the ſtep were free from Kirgueſe, I would not neg⯑lect the opportunity of viewing ſome remarkable places there; I therefore went, on the 17th of Auguſt, to a Koſchena, or Tartarian temple, kept ſacred both by the Kirgueſe and Baſkirians, and ſituated in the mid⯑dle of the deſart, upon a little river which flows into the Ui, about ſeventy-five miles from this place. My eſcort conſiſted of twenty Coſſacks, from the diſtrict of the river Ui, and eighty Baſkirians, Meſtſcheraks and Tartars, with the Baſkirian Starchin Schoker. Hav⯑ing travelled unmoleſted the whole day, I ordered my [126] tent to be erected in the evening, and ſlept quietly on the ſtep. The night was gloomy, yet without dew, and the next morning was fine and ſerene. The day after, we reached the Tartarian temple, to ſee which, I undertook the journey. It ſtands on an elevated, open, level ground, in perfect good condition, and the wooden-work, within ſhews, that it is not ſo very anci⯑ent as reported; yet there is no Baſkirian or Kirgueſe that remembers it's being erected. Round about it, is a circular ditch, 100 fathoms in circumference, which, on account of the ſandy ſoil, is not very deep. With⯑in this ditch is the place where the Kirgueſe, if in the neighbourhood, bury their dead.

The lower part of the building, of which I have given a repreſentation, is ſquare, thirteen Ruſſian ells in breadth and ſeventeen in length: the front and en⯑trance are towards the ſouth, and raiſed above the lower part by a wall of two ells and a half; the three other ſides are ornamented with a cornice, conſiſting of nine rows of outſtanding bricks, of which the three middle ones turn their angles outwards. On the whole front, runs a chamſret, as an ornament, and two others on both ſides of the porch. This porch is of Gothic con⯑ſtruction. It is three ells and three-quarters wide, and rather more than ſeven ells high. Within, on both ſides, there are arched niches, four ells high and two and a half broad and deep, in each of which is a little, ſquare air-hole through the wall. The inner-door is [127] alſo arched, but the inſide of the arch is filled up with a thin wall, reſting on a croſs-beam, of courſe, the height of the gate, from the ſill to the croſs-beam, is but three ells and a half, and the breadth, ſeven-fourths. As the bottom or floor of the building with⯑in is ſomewhat raiſed, there are a couple of brick-ſteps before it, and on the upper-ſtep lies a ſill of fir⯑wood, not in the leaſt decayed, but worn in paſſing in and out. The chapel within is juſt nine ells ſquare and the walls are two ells thick; the roof, within, is vaulted, flat in the middle and built in a workman-like manner, and the centre of the roof is ornamented with a ball of argill and white earth; the angles of the roof are rounded off and decorated with bricks, placed in in the form of ſcales and ſupported by pilaſters; in the middle of each ſide, within, are niches and a circular place left in the centre of each niche, half way through the wall. To give light to this chapel, there are, in the weſt-ſide, ſome window-holes; underneath the windows, within, all round the building, is a hollow cornice, where it is evident lights were burnt, and wherein are three air-holes in the ſouthern wall, and two in the ſide-walls. In the corner are ſome blind holes, the uſe of which I could not conceive. Near the floor is another hollow cornice all round, which renders the walls thinner in theſe places, and, at the bottom, ſeems as if it had been gnawn and ſome ſtones fallen out in ſundry places. Above this ſquare build⯑ing, which is eight ells and a half high, ſtands, not di⯑rectly [128] over the centre but ſtreight over the arch, a fun⯑nel, reſembling a twelve-angled cupola, on a perpen⯑dicular brick-work, five ells and a half high, with a plain cornice round it. The cupola is eight ells high, open above, within which are many croſs-beams, ſo that a perſon may climb up to the top, and that it may more eaſily be done, there is a birch-trunk within, with ſhort cut branches, ſerving as a ladder.

The whole building conſiſts of red-bricks, ſimilar in ſhape and form to European ones. The ſtones, of the inſide floor, are ſquare and of a cubic form, and laid in mortar, which ſeem quite freſh; the roof only is thinly overgrown with moſs.

Within the porch, are birch-poles leaned on both ſides, hung and covered with tufts of horſes hair, manes and tails, and ſome rags of ſilk-cotton. The Kirgueſe be⯑lieve it ſalutary to their horſes, if ſome of their tails and manes is left in ſuch a ſacred place, and it is generally a Tartarian cuſtom, when paſſing before ſuch holy places, to leave ſomething of what they have with them. Within the porch alſo, in part of the wall, we found all ſorts of little ſtones, ſome lead balls, an ar⯑row, gun-powder, &c. Some of the Tartars of my eſcort, having ſaid their prayers, made an addition to theſe things, among which were a few ſmall copper-coins. Probably the blind angle-holes within were deſigned for the depoſit of ſuch little offerings.

[129]Within the ditch was a variety of old and new graves, cloſe together. The old ones, on account of the ſandy ſoil, were almoſt fallen in, and it was clear that they were caſed to a conſiderable depth, with birch-pales and wood covered with little boards. At every grave, at the north or head-end was ſtuck, upright, a birch-pole, ſeven feet high, or one or two wooden lances, with rib⯑bands or rags tied on the top, by way of flag; and the latter is ſaid to be peculiar to the graves of men. On ſome, the turf was beaten ſmooth and covered with mats of thin reed-graſs, ſewed together. About many were ſome old latticed-work of their felt tents, which encompaſſed the grave like a hedge. Upon ſome, lay old ſaddles, wooden bowls, ladles, &c. One was co⯑vered with a frame, on which they weave narrow pieces of camblets; on many was a wooden ſpade, with the handle ſtuck in the earth, and about moſt were twiſ⯑ted, round the trellis or encloſures, long girdles or ropes of horſe or camels hair. On one grave, lay a kind of coffin, in form of a little boat, and turned on it's flat cover, but it's ſize ſhews it would have held only a child. On one, was placed part of a cart of Kara-Kalpakſkoi, with it's two wheels ſeven feet high, which, perhaps, was uſed in carrying the body. This appear⯑ed to be one of the handſomeſt graves, or tombs. Round the temple, grew a great deal of kali, and I re⯑mark this, becauſe I ſaw it no where elſe afterwards, either in theſe diſtricts or thoſe of the Samara or Ir⯑tiſh.

[130]My drawing and deſcription was not ſo ſoon finiſhed as the prayer of the Baſkirians who accompanied me. I ſee out on my return at five o'clock, encamped on the road and reached Troizkaja the next night, without any diſaſter, but that of our horſes being almoſt knocked up.

On the 23d. of Auguſt, I ſet out from Troizkaja to trace the river Ui, up to the Uralian mountains, and in my way, towards night, was obliged to ſleep at a guard-ſtation, owing to a riſing thunder-ſtorm in view. Scarce had I arrived, but ſuch a dreadful ſtorm broke out, as I had never ſeen in any country I had paſſed through. It laſted three full hours, and during all this time, one could ſcarce count ſix ſeconds and generally but two or three, without ſeeing the moſt fiery flaſhes of lightning and hearing the moſt tremendous roars of thunder. The thunder-cloud had formed in the weſ⯑tern ſky, a broad, dark girdle, which ſtood immove⯑able, and underneath this cloud it flaſhed without inter⯑ruption; at laſt, a violent ſhower followed, and the next day was warm and ſerene again, except a few wan⯑dering thunder-clouds.

One of theſe forts was attacked this ſummer by 1000 Kirguiſian robbers, who had hidden themſelves in the neighbouring pine-wood, and during a blind attack upon this ſmall garriſon, carried off from the ſtep all the horſes belonging to the fort, that were there feed⯑ing, [131] and the centinels with them, who were placed to watch the horſes; ſome of whom were killed on the firſt onſet, and the garriſon, then deprived of horſes, was unable to purſue them.

But this was a trifling diſaſter to the air-plague, which raged here in the neighbourhood at this time, and might, perhaps, be owing to the ſituation of the place, the moraſſes of a mountainous diſtrict, expoſed to the burning heat of the ſun. It was with difficulty my horſes could gain admittance into the fort, an edict having been iſſued by the commanding-officer, that no ſtrange cattle ſhould be admitted into an infected place. But my opinion was, that it was proper to admit them and not ſuffer them to be expoſed on the ground, which was the ſource of the diſorder. I ſhall here dwell a lit⯑tle on the nature of this diſtemper, which makes a great ravage in this diſtrict, in moiſt and hot ſummers, where there are open ſteps or deſarts, with numberleſs, freſh, bitter and ſalt-water lakes, and annually along the Siberian line, by deſtroying a number of regimental horſes, there quartered.

‘A deſcription of this plague may be thought uſe⯑leſs to an Engliſh reader, but when it is conſidered, that the ſame cauſe may operate in this and other countries, a little enquiry into it may not be unac⯑ceptable.’

[132]Notwithſtanding all the pains I took to be an eye⯑witneſs of the effects of this plague, I could not get an opportunity to open a fallen horſe, and examine into it as I could wiſh. The plague had raged during the hot ſummer-months, eſpecially when the ſultry ſouth-winds blew, but as ſoon as contrary winds ſucceeded, the evil relaxed; but if theſe contrary winds do not con⯑tinue, the diſorder rages as before, and will even attack thoſe men, who, in theſe diſtricts, are more or leſs ex⯑poſed to it. But this evil ſeldom ſhews itſelf in towns or forts, either on men or cattle. The former com⯑monly feel it in the field, or when they go into the country, hay-making, attending their herds, &c. eſ⯑pecially where the diſtrict is ſwampy. It has been ob⯑ſerved by a detachment lately in the Kirguiſian ſtep, and alſo upon many other occaſions, that there are cer⯑tain low grounds, in which this diſtemper is generally to be met with. When this detachment had paſſed the night on ſuch places, it commonly happened, that not only many horſes fell the next day, but that the in⯑fection ſpread itſelf to men. All theſe are very ſtrong proofs of what I heard in other places, during the win⯑ter, of a ſimilar plague, that uſed to ſhew itſelf in ma⯑lignant tumours. I even know that a gangrenous in⯑flammation of the throat, about the river Irtiſh, has been conſidered as the ſame plague as that which raged here. From the above circumſtances and other ſymp⯑toms of the diſorder, it ſeems plain, that it's principal cauſe is certain inſects hovering in the air, and almoſt [133] inviſible to the eye. Add to this, that it ſeizes men, horſes and cows, whoſe ſkin is not much ſheltered from their attacks; whereas ſheep, whoſe bodies are defended by their wool, never ſuffer in this calamity, let it rage ever ſo violently; and alſo, that cooler ſpots are quite free from this evil, at a time when it is prevalent in others. About the Irtiſh, there ſeldom a year paſſes with⯑out this plague, but near the water Burla, ſituated only ſeventy-five miles from the Irtiſh, where the air is al⯑ways cool, this ſcourge to men and beaſts is unknown. Here the inhabitants drive all the cattle they can ſpare, from the forts and ſtations, to feed during the unwhole⯑ſome ſeaſon.

I will now deſcribe the ſymptoms of this diſorder in men. The firſt is, that the ſoundeſt and moſt healthy perſons, of any age or ſex, are ſuddenly troubled with an itching, followed by a hard tumour in ſome particu⯑lar part, which ſeems to ariſe from the ſting of a fly, or horſe-ſtinger. This ſwelling breaks out in the co⯑vered or uncovered parts of the people, but generally in the face, and, among horſes, in the groin and ab⯑domen. It rapidly increaſes in ſize and hardneſs, and grows ſo inſenſible, that one may prick the ſwoln part with a needle, till we reach the ſound fleſh under it, and the patient not feel it. In the centre of this hard tu⯑mour is commonly diſcovered, in the external part, a red or bluiſh point, ſimilar to the ſting of an inſect, and if remedies are not applied, the gangrenous putri⯑dity [134] will extend itſelf farther. During this firſt ſtage of the evil, the patient feels no internal indiſpoſition, but with the increaſe of the boil, he is afflicted with head-achs, anxiety and reſtleſſneſs, which are, perhaps, but the natural conſequences of his fear of danger; though the ſame anxiety, even to ſadneſs, is viſible in cattle, but not till the diſtemper has reached it's high⯑eſt degree and ſeems incurable. Some peaſants, who accompanied me and had been afflicted with this diſ⯑eaſe, told me, that, after the firſt ſymptoms had ſhewn themſelves, whenever they rode through a brook or within ſight of water, they felt themſelves very faint, feeble and ready to ſwoon.

Cattle generally die of this diſtemper, partly becauſe the boil is diſcovered too late, and partly becauſe the common people do not like to meddle with the cows; but men preſently get free from it, as ſoon as proper remedies are applied. Dr. Gmelin has, in his Siberian travels, deſcribed the method of curing it. The com⯑mon people, after pricking the hard ſwelling in ſeveral places with a long needle, rub into it a mixture of ſal ammoniac and tobacco, enjoining the patient not to drink any thing cold and to refrain from certain food. About the Irtiſh, they prick the tumour and bathe it with a ſtrong lye of wormwood-aſhes, and a decoction of tobacco and ſal ammoniac, or allum. On the line of the river Ui, infallible cures are ſaid to be performed by a hot application of night-ſhade, reduced to pow⯑der, [135] ſal ammoniac, levain and oatmeal. Yet the ge⯑nerality of the lower-claſs of people, prefer rather the old, painful remedy, and even ſurgeons have adopted it. In ſome places, they apply a living frog to the part, but I cannot ſay with what ſucceſs. The remedies I have mentioned, often ſucceſsfully applied to horſes, are of ſuch a nature, that they will kill any ſpecies of inſect, and corroborates my opinion of their being ſome venemous inſect, which, during the ſultry ſum⯑mer days, riſes in the air of certain, ſwampy ſpots and finds it's way into the ſkins of animals, thus cauſing that dangerous, gangrenous and deadly ſwelling. Perhaps this is an inſect ſimilar to that obſerved by Swediſh naturaliſts, and which Linnaeus calls furia infer⯑nalis, or the helliſh fury, of which we have had but very few accounts; but it is not, probably, of the ſame ſpecies, it having been remarked in Sweden, that this inſect cauſes a much more rapid and moſt torturing death, ^(*) whilſt this of Siberia operates ſlowly and almoſt without pain; but the experiment may be tried, which was ſucceſsfully uſed in Sweden, whether an ap⯑plication of turned milk, or freſh, white cheeſe, would not extract the inſect from the infected part. In ſuch diſorders, it would be of great uſe to keep the cat⯑tle all together, in a particular paſture, and make a [136] great ſmoke round them, all the time the plague rages, with every ſort of roots, dried turf and dung; which would, in all likelihood, keep off the inſects from troubling them.

‘This country, as far as Dr. Pallas has hitherto travelled, ſeems to be inhabited only by nomade na⯑tions, except at the ſorts and manufactories. The old boundary of the Ruſſian empire, before it's terri⯑tory was extended as it is, was fortified by a line of redoubts, and properly garriſoned to keep the Tar⯑tar nations from encroachments. Theſe garriſons are ſtill kept up, and he travelled from one to the other, making excurſions from each, on both ſides the line, where he could hear of any thing worth his inſpecti⯑on. It appears that the roads, from place to place, are beaten and, in ſummer-time, tolerably paſſible; near the forts and manufactories, they are kept in ſome degree of repair, and where there is no perma⯑nent, Tartarian village, and the diſtance is too great between fort and fort, poſt-houſes, for the accommo⯑dation of travellers, have been erected, where horſes are kept in readineſs for their uſe.’

‘From the 26th of Auguſt to the middle of Decem⯑ber, 1770, he was detained, by an inflammation of his eyes and ſwelling of the eye-lids, occaſioned by the burning heat of the ſun and the ſalt duſt, during his journey through the ſtep or deſart of Troizkaja; [137] but, having ſome young gentlemen with him, who ſtudied under him, he ſent one to explore the country in the neighbourhood and another to take an account of the fiſheries in the Caſpian ſea. The one was em⯑ployed in ſearching the depth of caverns, which are not of ſufficient magnitude to claim the attention of an Engliſh reader; but, the Caſpian fiſheries, we ſhall give an account of, as Dr. Pallas has related them from the laſt gentleman's account.’

September. The weather was ſo favourable in the beginning of September, that I wiſhed to have been able to have profited by it, but the leaſt air made my eyes exceedingly painful. I was able, however, to take notice of the wandering birds, and it was delightful to ſee them crowd here from the northern diſtricts, where, according to accounts received by travellers, the month of September had begun with ſnow and froſt. Theſe took up their abode in the numberleſs lakes of this ſtep, which afford them plenty of food. Every ſpot was full of wild-geeſe, ducks and all ſorts of water-fowl, which are never wanting in autumn, in the province of Iſet⯑ſkoi. In ſpring, theſe ultra-marine birds direct their flight, firſt to the warm ſouthern ſteps, which the ſnow ſoon forſakes, and there ſtay till the northern rivers are free from ice. They then draw northwards, com⯑monly with the end of April; particularly the north-gooſe (Anſer Erythropus), the ice-duck (Anas hyemalis), the large, vari-coloured diver (Colymbus arcticus), the [138] white ſnow-gooſe and many others. Great numbers of theſe remain and people the lakes, namely, the large wild-gooſe, common ducks, divers, the ſeveral ſpecies of gulls, the grey and white crane, herons, wood⯑cocks, &c. yet moſt of them fly alſo northward. Several ſpecies, however, remain in theſe warmer diſ⯑tricts and never go farther north, particularly the ber⯑gander (Tadorna), and the red duck (Anas rutila), which arrives the ſooneſt of all others, (having it's abode in the neighbouring, ſouthern diſtricts and lakes of the Aſiatic deſart) and returns again with the beginning of Auguſt, as ſoon as it's young are fledged. Thoſe birds which build their neſts northwards, return to the ſouth in autumn and feed in theſe watry diſtricts, till the general approach of winter drives them more to the ſouth or acroſs the ſea. The firſt that return are the common, wild geeſe and many ſpecies of ducks; ſoon after theſe, the north geeſe and cranes, and, laſt of all, the ice-duck, eſpecially on the ſalt-lakes.

On the arrival of the geeſe, preparation is made by the Coſſacks and peaſants to catch them, a diverſion they are fond of, when harveſt is over. The manner of catching is worthy deſcription, as they are taken flying, in nets of the following form.

They fix on a lake, pretty well encompaſſed with birch-wood; ſuch a lake this bird prefers, as ſheltered from the wind and affording a more peaceful retreat, [139] and greater plenty of food. Every morning, at ſun⯑riſe, the geeſe leave theſe lakes to feed in the open deſart or ſtep, and return at night. On that ſide of the lake, or in the place through which the geeſe are accuſtomed to return, they hew down the birches, ſo as to leave a ſtraight paſſage or alley about ſixty feet broad, through which the geeſe will afterwards take their flight, which is not very high, when ſo near home. When there are more lakes than one near each other, they open ſuch a paſſage from one lake to the other; and, as the ducks will cruiſe through this paſ⯑ſage often in the courſe of the night, they are caught alſo. At twenty-five or thirty fathoms from the lake, they leave, ſtanding, two very high birch-poles, whoſe diſtance is ſo ſtudied, as to fit the net which is ſpread acroſs the avenue from ſide to ſide. Theſe nets are made of ſtrong, hempen cord, from thirty-ſix to ſixty feet long, and from fourteen to twenty feet broad. The upper-part and ſhort ſides are bound with a rope, and at both the upper-corners they faſten a ſmall cord. On the top of the two tall trees, converted into poles by cutting off the branches, they faſten a ſtake perpen⯑dicularly with a fork at the end; and, climbing up the trees, carry the cords, faſtened to the corners of the net, up, and fix them over theſe forks. This enables them to draw up the net to the top of the poles and expand it, ſo that the upper-part ſhall be twenty-four or twen⯑ty-eight feet high, and the lower-part within ſix or eight feet of the ground. The net is then ſtrained [140] tight and kept ſo by ſtrings faſtened by pegs to the ground. The end of the ropes that draw up the net, are faſtened alſo in the ground, at ſome diſtance behind, and the fowlers lie down on the graſs, near them, one on each ſide, waiting till the morning for their game. The geeſe generally riſe from the lake an hour before the ſun, and, of courſe, do not ſee the nets in the dawn, and as they fly with their necks right forward, their heads are ſoon through the meſhes. The fowlers, who have the ends of the ropes in their hands in readi⯑neſs, no ſooner find the geeſe touch the net, but they immediately let go the rope, the net falls by the weight of the geeſe, and they are entangled and caught. Sometimes they will catch ten, ſometimes twenty at a time, but they always catch ſome. Beſides the large, common gooſe and north-gooſe, which is the moſt de⯑licate bird, roaſted, to be met with, they take, in the ſame manner, different ſorts of ducks and divers. When the net is removed in the morning, they leave the draw-ropes over the forks on the top of the trees, to prevent climbing a ſecond time, and never remove them wholly, till the ſeaſon of catching is over.

At the latter end of this month, arrived here, Capt. R. De Rytſchkof, the ſon of the learned counſellor of ſtate and author of the ſame name. I left him in the ſpring at Ufa, with directions to travel over the nor⯑thern diſtricts of Caſan, and as he employed himſelf chiefly in the topography and hiſtory of the people, [141] which will be printed diſtinct from this tour of mine, it is unneceſſary to ſay any thing about it here.

‘For the information of our readers, we will endea⯑vour to ſupply this deficiency, from that author. The government or regency of Caſan, now compre⯑hends Permia and the provinces along the Viaitka, neither of which made any part of the antient king⯑dom of Caſan, till it was ſubdued by the Ruſſians. The greateſt number of the Tartars, diſperſed by the war, have ſince collected and are ſettled in the envi⯑rons of that city. They are eſtimated at above 10,000 males, and occupy two conſiderable ſlabodes or ſuburbs of the city of Caſan, one of which is em⯑belliſhed with two ſtone-built moſques and ſeveral miſgirs or very high, round towers, the remains of the old city. The other ſlabode contains two medſcheds, or houſes of worſhip, built of wood. All the other Tartars of this regency, dwell in ſeparate villages, at ſmall diſtances from each other, and bounded by thoſe of the Ruſſians.’

‘In the little town of Kargala, thirteen miles from Orenburg, is a colony of Caſanian Tartars, ſettled in 1755, who, in 1773, paid the tax for 2160 males. The place is rich, having four medſcheds, or places of worſhip, and what is very uncommon in this part of the country, a number of pretty large, ſtone-built houſes.’

[142] ‘The mien, &c. of the Tartars of Caſan, may ſerve as the characteriſtic marks of all the mahome⯑dan Tartars in their neighbourhood, they are, in general, ſhort, lean; have a ſmall face, a freſh com⯑plexion, little noſe, ſmall mouth and ſmall, black eyes; a ſharp look and deep, cheſnut-coloured hair, which is lank and turns grey long before they are old. They are, in general, well-made, and their ſprightly manner, ſtraight ſhape, and modeſt or ti⯑mid mien, give them a very agreeable air.’

‘Their capacity is but moderate, but they are haughty and jealous of their honour, negligent, but not lazy, clever at all ſorts of handicraft-work, neat, ſober, frugal and humane. Theſe virtues they acquire by education and the precepts of their religi⯑on, to which they are zealouſly devoted. They take a very particular care to educate their children well, teach them to read and write the Arabic language, and bring them up very religiouſly, ſo that each ſchool has a chapel and a prieſt. It is not uncommon to find collections in manuſcript of hiſtorical anec⯑dotes, in the huts of the peaſants, and their mer⯑chants are extenſively acquainted, not only with their own hiſtory, but that of adjoining ſtates, and with the antiquities of each.’

‘The men ſhave their heads, leaving only whiſkers, and a little beard upon the chin. They wear linen-ſhirts, wide trowſers and buſkins of ſkins; but the poor, wear ſhoes made of bark. Their other cloath- is a looſe and light gown, a long and wide upper-coat, made after the eaſtern mode, with long ſleeves ending in a point, generally open within the elbow to paſs the arm through; and, on the outſide of all, they wear a belt, to which hangs a ſabre, a knife and a tobacco-pipe. They wear, on their head, a lea⯑ther cap, over which they have another ſort of cap, flatter and turned up all round, with a padded ſtuff. The under-garments of the poor, are made either of linen or nankeen, whilſt thoſe of the rich are com⯑poſed of ſilk, gold and ſilver-ſtuffs. The outer ones are of fine or coarſe cloth, according to the wealth of the wearer, ſometimes faced and ſometimes not; ſome wear lace on them, and thoſe who can afford it, face their caps with gold embroidery and mount their ſabres with ſilver.’

‘The dreſs of the married women, in all the nations where they purchaſe their wives, is more coſtly than that of the girls, becauſe the ornaments of the wife [144] do credit to the huſband, whereas thoſe of girls, would be a needleſs expence. The women dreſs like the men, as to ſhirts, trowſers, ſtockings, buſkins, ſlippers, upper and under-garments; only that the half-boots of the women are pointed at the toes and the cut of their cloaths are ſomewhat different. In ſummer-time, their cloaths are like thoſe of the Tſcheremiſſes. Inſtead of ſtockings, they wrap their legs in linen rags, tied on with pack-thread, wound ſeveral times round the calf. Their ſhoes are made of the bark of trees, cut into ſhapes and matted. In ſummer, they wear nothing over their ſhift, which is not tucked into their trowſers, but hangs over them, all round. Their ſhift is cloſe at the neck and wriſts, cut into ſhape and reaches to the knees. T [...]e neck, wriſtbands and ſeams, are covered with a whimſical embroidery of different coloured worſted, a large buckle keeps it together at the boſom, and a girdle round the waiſt. When they would be more dreſſed than ordinary, they put over this ſhift a habit like a morning-gown, made of vari-coloured cloths, tole⯑rably fine, and edge it with beaver-fur. Their caps are very high and in the ſhape of a cone, made of birch-bark, covered with ſkin or linen, ornamented with glaſs-beads, little, white ſhells and ſilver-coins. From this cap, a ribbon three inches broad, orna⯑mented in the ſame manner, falls down on the back. Some wear a broad ribbon on the forehead, covered with pieces of money and glaſs-beads, inſtead of the [145] conical cap. They wear, alſo, a number of rings, thimbles, and all ſorts of clattering pendants, at their girdles, which ornaments reach down to the joint of the knee behind, and in walking, they gingle as they go.’

‘In their food, they differ a little from their anceſ⯑tors. Gruel and various meſſes of flour have been introduced, and vegetables of the garden. They eat unleavened bread, baked on the hearth, rice⯑porridge and the Kourmatſch, or parched corn of anti⯑quity, ſpoken of in Scripture, Ruth, iii, 14. This is either wheat, rye, barley or Turkiſh corn, (Zea mays Linnaei), parched at the fire and then bruiſed in a mortar, and either eaten in that ſtate or boiled, or in porridge with milk and water. This Kour⯑matſch, kneaded with butter and fried or baked in an oven, is called Tolkan, and is a delicacy with the Tartars.’

‘Of meat, they are at liberty, by the alcoran, to eat camels, horſes, horned cattle, all ſorts of great game, fallow-deer, ſheep and goats, mountain-rats, birds, poultry and fiſh, but they muſt eat nothing that dies of ſickneſs or is ſtrangled; on which ac⯑count, they cut the throats of the animals they catch, and cover the blood they ſhed with earth. But of all fleſh, they prefer the colt, and among all the diſhes made of meat, they are fondeſt of the biſbar⯑mak, [146] or the five-finged diſh, ſo called, becauſe they eat with the fingers, without fork or ſpoon: it is a haſh made of fat meat, chopped and ſtewed. They uſe no ſeaſoning; but when they would make a meſs uncommonly nice, they add to it greaſe or butter. They drink milk alone, or mixed with flour or oat⯑meal, and make butter or cheeſe. On a journey, they have bags, into which they put ſour milk, in order that the whey may run off and enable them to turn the curd to various uſes.’

‘Water is the common drink of the Tartars of Ca⯑ſan; though the rich drink, ſometimes, milk, tea and broths. They cannot diſpenſe with tea, but prepare it different from ours. They boil it in open pots with milk and water, and, having ſeaſoned it with butter and ſalt, drink it hot, out of china or wooden cups. The alcoran prohibits the uſe of wine, ſpirits or beer, but all, without exception, drink mead, thus made—The common ſort is made of oatmeal, flour and honey, fermented together, and put into a ſolution of honey and ſeven times the quantity of hot water, filling up the caſk with the ſo⯑lution, as they draw it for uſe, ſo that a caſk will laſt a long time;—this they call Aſe-bab. Another kind of mead, made of honey, whey and wild cher⯑ries, beaten together, they call Eiran.’

[147] ‘Only a ſmall number, even of the rich, ſleep on feather-beds; the uſual manner is to put a piece of felt or carpeting on the bench which goes round the room, and to lie down upon it. Very few have pillows, and they never take off their cloaths at night.’

‘The koran enjoins a cleanlineſs, which they carry to exceſs. They waſh themſelves, all over, ſeveral times every day, and, leaſt they ſhould contract any impurity from the natural excretion of urine, they make water ſitting on their heels.’

‘They commonly eat four times a day. The bench on which they ſleep, ſerves them for table and chairs, each ſitting on his legs, after the eaſtern manner. They waſh and pray before and after each meal.’

‘In wealthy families, the women lodge and eat a⯑part, and are veiled when they go abroad, and even at home they are never ſeen, but when the huſband wiſhes to ſhew particular reſpect to his gueſts. The lower claſs of women and ſervants are leſs retired, and walk abroad publickly.’

‘Old men, of good character, are held in great ve⯑neration, and as the beard turns grey very early in life, with them Akſchakal, or grey-beard, is an ho⯑nourable title, which they confer on ſuch men as are [148] wiſe and prudent. Theſe are always conſulted in matters of importance, ſupply the place of prieſts, have always precedence and are arbitrators in all diſ⯑putes.’

‘The alcoran admitting of polygamy, every man is allowed four wives, but the greateſt part have but one; the rich often take two, ſome will go ſo far as three, but very few venture upon four. Theſe wives all enjoy the ſame right, each having a claim to the careſſes of her huſband in her turn. The purchaſe and maintenance of wives being expenſive, and more than one creating diſturbance in a family, they con⯑ſult their intereſt rather more than their pleaſure, and do not run to the end of the line allotted them. The cuſtom is, to marry a ſecond wife when the firſt ceaſes to be young and loſes the power of pleaſing; yet this firſt is the principal wife, though the new one is in poſſeſſion of her huſband's affections. Mer⯑chants, who travel, have a wife at every place where they have a houſe. Should a merchant's wife in⯑trigue, he gives her up to her gallant and takes an⯑other. A Ghivinſian, at Orenburg, who had thus diſpoſed of his eighth wife, was already promiſed to a ninth. Parents urge their ſons to marry whilſt boys, but do not ſo with their daughters. In the regency of Caſan and Orenburgh, the kalym or price of a wife is from twenty rubles to 500; but the bride [149] generally brings a fortune with her, equal to a fourth-part and, ſometimes, to the half of what ſhe coſts.’

‘The evening before marriage, the part over the os pubis is ſhorn by women, and the eſpouſals conſiſt in a public declaration of the agreement be⯑tween the parties contracting; a prieſt then re⯑peats a prayer, pronounces them to be man and wife, and the feſtival is cloſed with muſic and dancing. They have an inſtrument, peculiar to them, called Koba, a kind of violin, open at top, in ſhape ſome⯑thing like a gondola, having two hair-ſtrings and played on with a fiddle-ſtick; the notes ſtopped by the fingers of the left-hand, like a violin. The ſongs of the Tartars are commonly in blank-verſe, but very poetical and full of expreſſion. Lovers com⯑pare each other to the ſweet crane and tender turtle-dove, and preſent them with their eyes, their eye⯑brows, &c. Their muſic is martial, the dancing of the men, briſk and lively; but that of the women, ſlow and trailing, with the hands always held before the face.’

‘Barrenneſs in a wife is a great diſgrace, eſpecially if a man has but one wife, and the barren women is always deſpiſed by thoſe that have children. A wo⯑man, after child-birth, is held impure, till the cuſ⯑tomary ſigns of health return, at which times ſhe pu⯑rifies herſelf by prayer and bathing. The child is [150] carried to the prieſt within ſeven days of it's birth, who whiſpers a prayer into it's ear, gives it a name and then prays aloud. The name given, is generally that of the month in which it is born, ſo that the whole nation would have but thirteen names, if the father did not give the child the additional one of ſome relation, which is always done at the feſtival-dinner, given on this occaſion. Among the Nogay⯑an Tartars, ſettled about Aſtrachan, they endeavour to facilitate the delivery of women, by fixing a belt under their arms, hoiſting them up by this and letting them fall ſucceſſively. Boys are circumciſed between the age of ſix and fifteen, by a man who makes it his profeſſion, and, as it is diſhonourable not to have un⯑dergone this ceremony before the age of fifteen, the rich always pay for the poor.’

‘When perſons are dangerouſly ill, they are viſited by the prieſt, who prays with them. When dead, the corpſe is waſhed, wrapped in a linen or cotton winding-ſheet, ſo as to have the face only uncovered, and then ſprinkled with camphire. This done, the prieſt faſtens a label on the breaſt of the deceaſed, with this ſentence written on it, in Arabic, There is but one God and Mahomet is his Prophet.’

‘The body is carried to the grave in a coffin, but put into the earth without it. The graves are five or ſix feet deep, made north-weſt and ſouth-eaſt, [151] with a ſpace on one ſide within it, large enough to hold the body. Here it is placed, ſo that when the earth is thrown on, it does not touch the corpſe; for they conceive, that after a ſhort time, two angels take it to the judgment-ſeat. For the firſt three days, it is not lawful to light a fire in the houſe of the de⯑ceaſed; and, during the firſt month, ſolemn prayers are ſaid twice a-day for the dead, under an idea, that his trial is going on in that time. One paſſage in their ritual is, O God, give him not over unto Hell, but tranſplant him ſhortly into Paradiſe!’

‘The graves of the rich are diſtinguiſhed by erect⯑ing over them a little hut of balks, or by placing ſtones round them; for the ſplendid times are paſt in which the ſtately mauſoleum was erected to the dead. Others place only a poſt, with a ſhort inſcrip⯑tion on it, whilſt others have a head-ſtone and an epi⯑taph on it. A ſpecimen of theſe epitaphs, we have given when ſpeaking of Ufa.’

‘Not to enter into a detail of all the Mahomedan doctrines and opinions, it will ſuffice to ſhew the ac⯑cuſtomed ceremonies and general belief of the fol⯑lowers of Mahomet, in the Ruſſian empire. Moder⯑tion, in religious matters, being held to be a mortal ſin, every village has it's medſched, or chapel. In cities, moſques are ſpacious and neat, but without ornament, and, within, is an elevated place where [152] the koran is read and explained. The floor is co⯑vered with carpets, and before the door is a ſmall veſ⯑tibule, where every perſon leaves his ſhoes, on en⯑tering the houſe of prayer. So ſay the Scriptures. Take thy ſhoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou ſtandeſt is holy ground. The medſcheds of ſmall vil⯑lages are poor, little huts, badly conſtructed, with a gallery inſtead of a ſteeple, from whence the ſexton calls the people to devotion. The clergy are com⯑poſed of agouns or high-prieſts, and moulas or prieſts. One of their agouns has his ſeat at Caſan, another at Aſtrachan and a third at Tobolſk. The clergy have no ſettled income, but are often obliged to get a living by trade.’

‘According to their faith, a mahomedan becomes impure, by touching a dead body, eating unclean food, coition, all the natural excretions and many other actions; but bathing and prayer will purify the polluted body, of courſe, they are always at it, for piety and good, they ſay, deſerve heaven. They have ſeveral ways of bathing, but the moſt common is merely waſhing their hands; their good works conſiſt chiefly in faſting and alms; 205 days of the year they neither eat nor drink, till after ſun-ſet.’

‘The Tartars are ſtrong predeſtinarians. They be⯑lieve that the deſtiny of every man is fixed. and that the angel of death calls him at his appointed hour; [153] a belief that ſupports them in adverſity and guards them from ſuicide. Numbers indulge a piety bor⯑dering on enthuſiaſm and imagine it is poſſible, by religion, to become a ſaint, and that departed ſaints receive the prayers of the living. Five times a-day are they called to worſhip, by the ſexton, who ſings out their creed, namely, There is but one God and Ma⯑homet is his prophet. Nothing interrupts them in their devotion, which they always perform with fervency, turning their face towards Mecca, or, if at home, towards the word Alla, which is the name of God, and written up in ſome part of every man's houſe.’

‘The prayers of the Tartars are written in Arabic. Every one has a roſary, by which he makes his peti⯑tions. The prieſt ſits croſs-legged facing the con⯑gregation, reading the prayers in a ſoft and pathetic tone of voice, and the aſſembly repeats them, or an⯑ſwers Amin! When the word Alla is pronounced, every one heaves a profound ſigh, ſtops his ears and puts hands over his eyes and beard, as if ſenſible of his unworthineſs to hear the glorious name, or lift up his eyes to Heaven. During the prayers that are addreſſed to tutelary angels, they caſt their eyes about to the right and left. At other parts of the ſervice, they ſit down croſs-legged, riſe often up, bend the body profoundly forward, remain ſo bent a a long time, and frequently throw themſelves proſ⯑trate. Every one is without his ſhoes; the rich, in [154] prayer-time, put on a Turkiſh turban. The agouns wear them always, and the moulas keep on their common cap, during the ſervice of the moſque.’

‘They waſh themſelves prior to their taking an oath, then ſtriking the koran, three times, againſt their breaſt, ſay, May thy curſe ſmite me, if I ſwear falſely!’

The other gentleman, who had been at my deſire, continues our Author, to inſpect the fiſheries in the Caſpian ſea, and whoſe name is Sokolof, had an oppor⯑tunity, in the courſe of ſix months and a favourable ſeaſon, of making many obſervations on animals, birds, inſects and plants, which I had not an opportuni⯑ty of doing myſelf. By his indefatigable zeal, he ſent me ſix ſpecies of mice, hitherto unknown to naturaliſts, and ſome of them remarkable. Theſe are the mus ta⯑mariſcinus, meridianus, migralorius, ſocialis, lagurus and ſubtilis. I received, alſo, from the Caſpian ſea and ſouthern ſtep, a variety of birds, remarkable for their beauty and rarity, being alſo new in natural hiſtory. Among them was a very large ſpecies of black ſtep⯑lark, (Alauda Tartarica), which remains in the de⯑ſarts during ſummer and comes ſouthwards during win⯑ter, about the diſtricts that are inhabited, which other⯑wiſe they would never approach; alſo an unknown parrot-green ſpecies of bee-eater, (Merops Perſica); a very ſmall ſpecies of ſea-raven, (Pelicanus pigmeus), [155] the largeſt black-headed ſea-gull, (Larus Icthyactus), a ſpecies of large ſea-duck, with a red, copped head, (Anas rufina), a moſt ſuperbly beautiful, yellow-crowned heron, with a long head and nape feathers, (Ardea comata), and many other rare ſpecies of herons; alſo, two new ſpecies of ſerpents, and a number of in⯑ſects and plants.

In July, Mr. Sokolof ſtretched away weſtward from the Jaik into the Kalmuck ſtep and ſaw there, at a diſtance, thoſe little wild, Kirguiſian horſes, called Kulan, but could not get near them, as they took ſlight at the approach of the hunters. He travelled near fifty miles over this ſalt-ſtep, without being able to find a drop of freſh-water: at laſt, he reached a low plain overſpread with ſalt-lakes, abounding with glau⯑ber-ſalts, which form beautiful chryſtals in the water and leave, at the bottom, a ſediment of the ſame mix⯑ed with common ſalt. Some have the wonderful pro⯑perty of depoſing a ſalt, quite red and ſmelling like violets, conſiſting chiefly of glauber-ſalts, with a very ſmall mixture of kitchen-ſalt; the chief reaſon of this ſeems to be the ſoil, which conſiſts of a great quantity of ſea-muſcles, converted into chalk.

After traverſing near forty miles over this plain and a diſtance of thirty more over a ſandy deſart, without a tree and ſcarce a plant, he reached the Caſpian ſhore. In this ſandy deſart, he met with a plant and [156] a buſh, peculiar to theſe ſands; the plant is a fennel, (Ferula), deſcribed at the end of this volume: the buſh grows ſix feet high, in a dry quickſand, and never has been known to botaniſts; as ſuch, it deſerves par⯑ticular notice. I have given a drawing of it; ſee page 66; and alſo, at the end of this volume, a de⯑ſcription; and as this plant is, by it's whole ſtructure, viſibly different from every known genus, I think I am at liberty to give it a generical name, and have called it Pterococcus Aphyllus. See the plate. The Kalmucks and Bucharians call this buſh, Torlok, and ſay, it is to be met with in the ſandy deſarts of the Kirgueſe, and that they uſe it's knotty ſtem, which, near the root, is about one inch and a half diameter, to make tobacco-pipes of, which it is very fit for, on account of the hardneſs of it's wood. The freſh roots of the buſh, if ſplit through, yield a great deal of clear gum, which in quality is almoſt ſimilar to the traganth, ſwells very much in water, and yields a brown-yellow and ſweetiſh jelly, and if it ſtands warm, will in a few days, take on a vinous fermentation. After this buſh has dropped it's octagonal ſeeds or nuts, it remains till autumn bare and leafleſs, like ruſhes, which ſhoot up longer and longer, till they divide into new branches. Theſe fall towards winter, leaving nothing but the wooden branches, which produce again young twigs, and bloſ⯑ſom in ſpring. This plant I ſhall ſpeak of further hereafter.

[157]Mr. Sokolof's deſcription of the Caſpian fiſheries is of great importance, not only to the Ruſſian empire but to other European powers, and as ſuch I have given it to my readers in his own words.

The fiſhery along the northern coaſt of the Caſpian ſea, is held on leaſe, by the merchants of Aſtrachan, in which their chief wealth conſiſts. The neareſt place from the mouth of the Jaik, where this fiſhery is car⯑ried on, is a bay about fifty miles diſtant, formerly called Bogatoi Kultuk, (the rich bay), on account of the multitude of fiſh there caught. At the end of March, the Caſpian ſea is clear from ice. The fiſhery begins in April, and Mr. Sokolof ſet out on the 20th of that month, to take a view of it. He went in a boat to the ſaid bay, as the way was impaſſable by land. Near the bay are five fiſhing towns and magazines. The bay is ſo full of fiſh, that they fiſh it, with ſucceſs, at five different times in the year. For 100 miles to the weſt of this bay, there is no fiſhing carried on, except in the middle of ſummer, and the ſhad and barbel-fiſh⯑ing, with nets, in ſpring and autumn, there being no other fiſh, on account of the different ſpecies of ſtur⯑geon, with which the bay and ſhallows of the coaſt a⯑bound, owing to the water being freſhened by the flowing of ſome rivers into it. In theſe places they de⯑poſe their ſpawn, or go up the river to paſs the winter; beſides, the quantity of ſea-weeds here harbours ſhoals [158] of little fiſh, which ſerve as food to fiſhes of a larger ſpecies.

On the coaſt, as far as the fiſhery extends, there are watagas or magazines erected, where are ſalted only large fiſh, ſuch as the different ſpecies of ſturgeon, ſewrjugs, ſalmon and barbel. Each wataga has boats of different ſizes and ſtructure, fit to go out to ſea with a few men. The largeſt are manned with five men, the ſmalleſt with two, and are equipped with ſails. Near each wataga, is a large veſſel, with proviſions, inſtruments and ſalt for ſalting the fiſh, which is brought from the Imperial magazine, at Aſtrachan. Theſe veſſels ſail to and fro, from Aſtrachan to the fiſheries, bring ſalt and other materials, and return loaded with fiſh, which is landed on wharfs, near the watagas. The fiſh is cut open, cleaned, waſhed, &c. on floats, which are ſometimes covered, and the veſ⯑ſels from theſe floats are laden and unladen. The workmen are all hired from the interior parts of Ruſſia and the towns ſituated along the Wolga: they are ſometimes engaged for the whole year, ſometimes only for a ſpring, autumn or winter-fiſhery. Some of them are Kalmucks of the uluſs of Bambar, who had taken up their winter-quarters about the Caſpian ſea, before the greateſt part of the Kalmuck hordes had left this diſtrict. Each wataga employs from fifty to 120 men, as the tenant can afford. Some are engaged as ſteerſ⯑men, ſome as rowers, ſome to ſalt the fiſh, ſome to [159] dreſs the roe and others to prepare the fiſh-glue, &c. all according to the different branches they have ſer⯑ved an apprenticeſhip to, for which they have a ſalary, never exceeding forty or fifty rubles for each fiſhing-ſeaſon; but the general pay is twenty rubles. Old ſteerſmen, who have acquired more ſkill in the fiſhery, by long practice and experience, are appointed as di⯑rectors, and theſe have better pay.

Beſides theſe men, there are many merchants and citizens, from Aſtrachan, that reſide here, during the fiſhery. Theſe people agree with the proprietor, or tenant, and fiſh for him, at a certain price for all the fiſh they catch, uſing their own boats and implements. The price paid for each ſewrjug, is from four to ſix copecs, each copec one half-penny, Engliſh; and each bjeluga, from eight to twelve copecs; but, fiſhes of extra ſize, are counted as two or more.

Beſides the houſes of the fiſhermen, near every wa⯑taga, are many ſheds and covered places, where the roe is prepared, the fiſh-glue and back-ſinews dried, and all the materials kept for fiſhing. For the ſalted fiſh, they have caves and ſubterraneous ice-cellars of different ſizes. Theſe contain a wooden floor and large wooden troughs, in which the ſalt-pickle is prepared. On each ſide of the pickling-troughs are diviſions, where the fiſh is laid after it has been taken from the ſalt, and is again ſtrewed over with freſh ſalt; and be⯑hind [160] theſe diviſions the ſpace is filled with ice, in order to keep the fiſh freſh.

The watagas are ſituated in places where the ſea is deep enough to carry veſſels and where the ſhore, by it's elevation, is ſheltered againſt the ſouth-wind, which ſwells the waves and makes them laſh the ſhore. Theſe ſpots, then, are commonly high capes, where the ſea forms deep bays, and from which the ſtep is ſepa⯑rated by ruſhy ſea-marſhes, paſſable only in boats. On theſe capes, grows as much graſs as is neceſſary to feed the horſes kept for the winter-fiſhery. The duties which the watagas pay to the ſtate, are in proportion to the quantity of fiſh-glue and roe they prepare. Each pud of fiſh-glue pays five rubles, and each pud of roe, two rubles, eighty copecs.

In ſpring, the bay is crowded with beljugas, ſewr⯑jugs and Wolga ſturgeons, at this time, without roe, coming here only to feed; but ſewrjugs depoſe their ſpawn at this ſeaſon, and do not return the whole year. In winter and autumn, they catch only beljugas, which collect here to ſpawn and paſs the winter.

The ſpring-fiſhery begins as ſoon as the ſea is free from ice, which often happens in the middle of March. Then large ſhoals of ſmall fiſhes approach the coaſt; of theſe, one little fiſh, (Cyprinus Griflagine), called, in Ruſs, Obla, about an inch long, is the moſt fa⯑vourite [161] food of the beljugas, who, ſoon after, follow them in great multitudes. As ſoon as the obla appears, they catch a great many of them, in drag-nets, put them alive into reſervoirs and preſerve them as baits for the hooks, as the beljuga bites at nothing ſo ſoon. When the beljugas enter the bay in troops, which is generally a fortnight after the appearance of the obla, the fiſhery begins. If this time is paſſed over, the tenant loſes his advantage. Then the fiſhers are at work night and day, and as ſoon as they have brought one boat-load aſhore, they puſh off for another. In briſk ſea-gales, there is the beſt fiſhing, for it has been obſerved, that ſuch gales drive the fiſh upon the coaſt; but if the wind blows from the land, it always impove⯑riſhes the fiſhery. In good ſeaſons, a boat will catch upwards of fifty large fiſhes in two hours.

The beljuga is caught here with lines and hooks. The tackling conſiſts of ſeventeen ropes, 144 feet in length, to which they tie 125 cords, each cord ten feet long, with hooks faſtened to it, at the diſtance of eighteen inches from each other. Thirty of ſuch tack⯑lings compoſe what they call a Snaſt, which conſiſts of ſome hundred fathoms of line. Between every ſnaſt, is tied a ſtone, weighing many pounds, and alſo a buoy of dried reed-mace, which floats on a rope fourteen feet long. To all this tackling, are faſtened two anchors. Such an anchor conſiſts of two ſplit pieces of a tree, each of which has a ſtrong branch at one end, [162] that gives it the form of an anchor, and this is loaded with bricks, to give it weight. Each anchor has a cable of about twenty-fathoms long. When the anchors are caſt, they tie an obla to each hook, and the whole is thrown into water three or four fathoms deep, ſo that the tackling lies at the bottom, giving the baits a liberty of ſwimming; and, the beljugas greedily ſwallowing them, are caught on the hooks; and as the anchors keep the tackling in it's ſituation, the largeſt fiſh cannot eſcape. The whole is raiſed twice a-day and drawn, with the fiſh, into the ſhip. When taken off the hooks, to prevent their fainting by lying together, a rope is drawn through their gills and they are let down the ſhip's ſide into the water, in order to be brought aſhore alive. When aſhore, they are drawn by hooks upon a ſcaffold, and cut up one after another. Firſt, they ſplit the head with an ax, then cut open the belly and take out the entrails, roe, glue-bladder and, laſt of all, the dorſal ſinews. The lower part of the abdomen and the bowels, are thrown away, but the wide and fleſhy ſnout is ſalted, and ſold at five or ſix copecs each. A middling ſized beljuga, has a ſtomach that will contain two whole ſea-calves or ſeals, beſides a great number of ſmall fiſhes. In ſpring, the beljuga has ſeldom any roe, but moſt are milters. After having taken the roe out, they tear out the glue or air-bladder, which occupies the whole back, put it into a pail and prepare to extract the iſing-glaſs; they next cut open the cartilages of the back, draw out the [163] back-ſinews, waſh them and hang them up, over poles, to dry.

When all the bowels are taken out, the fat, which lies plentifully about the milt, in milters, is ſcraped off with knives, collected in a pail and afterwards boiled and cleaned. This freſh fat is good-taſted, and may be uſed inſtead of butter or oil. In Aſtrachan, it is ſold from forty to fifty copecs per pail.

The fiſh, thus cleaned, is waſhed and carried into the above-mentioned caves, where it lies for twelve hours, or more, in a ſtrong pickle or brine; it is then put into boxes and covered with ſalt. Beljugas are here caught of an enormous ſize. In the winter, 1769, one was taken ſeventeen feet in length and it weighed ſeventy puds, that is upwards of 2500 lb. from which they took twenty puds of roe, or 720 lb. The largeſt ſewrjug never exceeds nine feet in length, from the point of the ſnout to the end of the tail-fins. Large beljugas will ſwallow young ſeals, geeſe and wild-ducks, whole.

Soon after the beljuga fiſhery is over, and often be⯑fore, that of the ſewrjug begins. This does not laſt above a fortnight and is but once a year, as they come up into the freſher water to ſpawn. This firſt is caught in nets and, if a favourable gale blows, they come in ſuch quantities, that the veſſel will not contain the [164] draught, but they muſt be brought to land by ropes. Each wataga will catch, in a ſhort time, ſixty or ſeventy thouſand; but if contrary winds blow, only half the quantity. This fiſhery is important on ac⯑count of the roe, or cavear, which is prepared two ways; one is called granular, the other bag-cavear. The granular, is preſſed through a coarſe ſieve, to cleanſe it from the ſkins and blood-veſſels, and then ſalted in troughs. One pud of roe, will take five pounds of ſalt. It remains in theſe troughs about an hour, is then ſpread over fine ſieves, that the ſuperflu⯑ous brine may drain away, and after this, it is bar⯑relled.

The bag-cavear, after being cleaned from the ſkins, is put, for half an hour, into ſtrong brine, then taken out and drained, by laying it on ſieves; after this, it is put into pointed bags, like thoſe uſed in apotheca⯑ries' ſhops, each bag containing eighteen pounds. In theſe bags it is ſqueezed till all the brine is out, and then put into barrels and trod down, by a man in lea⯑ther ſtockings; afterwards, the caſks are cloſed and well done over with tar, to prevent any of the roe run⯑ning out. Bag-cavear, is ſold at two rubles the pud; the granular, at one ruble, eighty copecs.

Fiſh-glue, is made from the internal membrane of the air-bladders. Theſe are cut open lengthways, laid to dry a little in the ſun, the internal membrane then [165] ſeperated from the external, preſſed with heavy weights, in a wet cloth or mat, one whole day, then cut into pieces, rolled up and dried in the ſhade. Sewrjug⯑glue ſells, at Aſtrachan, for thirty-five rubles the pud; beljuga-glue, for twenty-five or thirty-rubles. Sewr⯑jugs, they ſalt and dry in the ſun, for the table.

When the fiſhery is over, the cavear, glue, &c. and ſalt-fiſh, is brought to Aſtrachan by land, and there ſlowed away in cellars, till ſold. The proprietors of the fiſheries do not ſell retail, but diſpoſe of their whole property, or employ the merchants of Aſtrachan to ſell it by commiſſion, at ſo much a hundred; not the hun⯑dred weight, but 100 pieces, according to the ſize of the fiſh: each fiſh from eighteen to thirty-ſix inches long, from eye to tail, is reckoned as one piece; thoſe un⯑der eighteen inches count two for one piece; a fiſh of thirty-ſix inches, counts as two pieces, thirty-nine for three pieces, forty-two for four, and ſo on. A hundred ſuch b ljugas, at the firſt hand, will ſell for ſeventy or ſeventy-five rubles. Sewrjugs, without be⯑ing meaſured are ſold from ten to fifteen rubles per hundred. Barbels are valued at ſorty rubles per 1000. All kinds of ſturgeon, caught in rivers, are conſidered as better and more delicate, and will ſell ten per cent. dearer than ſea-fiſh. The dried back-ſinews ſell, at Aſtrachan, for one ruble and a half per pud; but, when the fiſh is ſold wholeſale, theſe ſinews are given in, according to the quantity.

[166]In the winter-fiſhery, they break the ice in places where they fiſh, bring to the wataga what they catch, on ſledges, and ſend it, frozen, to Aſtrachan, where 100 ſuch freſh beljugas, will ſell for 120 rubles. Shads weigh, here, eight puds and barbel one and a half. The former are uncommonly fat in ſummer and are then called Sharkoi Som, (hot ſhads). They like it's fat hinder-parts and tail, but the head and fore-part is thrown away. Barbel-roe is alſo thrown away, but they make a kind of bad glue of it's air-bladder.

Tjumen. My eyes getting better I ſat out, in the middle of December, and, after travelling about 170 miles, reached the town of Tjumen, ſituated on the Tura, on the 19th. This town, after being deſtroyed by fire, is new-built, in regular ſtreets. Here I had the pleaſure of converſing with Dr. Lepechin, a mem⯑ber of the Imperial academy of ſciences, for ſome hours. He reſolved to paſs his winter here. At night I continued my journey over the Tura, near the burial-place of the famous Steller, well-known for his tour to Kamſchatka. In nineteen hours, I reached Tobol⯑ſkoi, a diſtance of 191 miles. This road is very well regulated, for, at every twenty-four or thirty-ſix miles, there are places erected for the accommodation of tra⯑vellers and changing of horſes. The diſtrict between Tjumen and Tobolſkoi, which I travelled over, is an open plain, with here and there a ſmall wood.

[167]I ſhall not take up any time in deſcribing the city of Tobolſkoi, however important it is to the government of Siberia, it having been fully done by Gmelin, in his tour to Siberia. The few obſervations I made, relate to natural hiſtory, and will be better ſpoken of in an⯑other place. I met here with Captain Iſlenief, who, afterhaving made his obſervations on the tranſit of Ve⯑nus over the ſun, at Jakuzkoi and other geographical buſineſs in Siberia, propoſed paſſing the winter here. His Excellency, Chevalier De Tſcbitſcherin, governor of this place, ſhewed me every civility in his power, and provided me with every thing neceſſary for the pro⯑ſecution of my journey.

‘Tobolſkoi is the capital of Siberia, has an arch⯑biſhop and was built in 1587, by the government of Ruſſia, juſt at the confluence of the Tobol with the Irtiſh, in the room of the ancient city Sibir, that was burnt down, and ſtood twelve miles lower down the river, on the right-hand ſhore of the Irtiſh. Sibir, by it's ruins, ſeems to have had the form of a fortified camp and to have been built with unburned bricks, like the Bulgarian cities. This part of the country was the principal ſeat of the Tartars, before the Ruſ⯑ſians added that vaſt territory to their dominions. When Yermak had penetrated as far as the Irtiſh, in 1582, and driven from thence the Khan of Siberia, Sibir was demoliſhed, and the Tartars of thoſe parts were in general diſperſed. This Yermak was a rob⯑ber, [168] who, at the head of ſome thouſands of Coſſacks, pillaged the cities on the borders of the Wolga and the Caſpian ſea, and took poſſeſſion of them, but finding himſelf not able to keep them, made an offer of his conqueſts to the Czar Ivan Vaſſilievitſch and deſired his aſſiſtance. Yermak obtained it, and alſo a pardon for himſelf and his people, and ſince this time the Ruſſians have had poſſeſſion of Siberia.’

‘The preſent Tartars of Tobolſkoi, are deſcended from the ancient Tartars of Siberia, who kept their ground. They take their name from the Tobol, both ſides of which they occupy, from the Kirgueſe frontiers to the mouth of that river. Their villages contain from ten to fifty farms, and they are in num⯑ber about 4000 males. They are Mahomedans, and reſemble altogether, in their manners and cuſtoms, the poorer ſort of the Tartar villagers of Caſan. Their poverty keeps them from luxury and de⯑bauchery, and few have but one wife, as a marriage⯑ble girl fetches from twenty to fifty rubles.’

I remained in Tobolſkoi from the 20th to the 30th of December, when I proceeded on my return, which was rendered very diſagreeable by a violent hurricane and ſnow. I ſat out with Dr. Lepechin for Catherine⯑burgh, at the diſtance of 240 miles; we arrived there, in nine ſtages, on the 1ſt of January, early in the morn⯑ing, and I continued my journey alone the ſame night, [169] ſixty miles further, and took up my winter-quarters at Tſcheljabynſkaja, which I reached in the night of Jan. 2d. 1771.

Hitherto the diſtrict of the regency of Orenburg and the adjacent provinces had been the object of my en⯑quiries; but they having all been viſited and examined either by me, Dr. Lepechin, or Profeſſor Falk, the chief end of the Imperial academy of ſciences was at⯑tained and the few remaining objects, worth notice, would be inſpected on our return, or by the miſſion of ſome of our learned aſſiſtants. Much more, however, being to be done in the natural hiſtory of theſe domini⯑ons and the extenſive kingdom of Siberia, and the northern diſtricts of the empire promiſing many diſco⯑veries, having not yet been thoroughly explored, and many accounts of Gmelin's and Steller's tours through Siberia, having been loſt, the Imperial academy agreed to a plan, ſormed by me and Dr. Lepechin, which was, that he ſhould travel, on his return, to the norther-moſt diſtricts of the regency of Caſan, the whole of Archangel and the coaſts of the White Sea, and, that I ſhould extend my journey even beyond the diſtricts of the ſea Baikal, to view and deſcribe ſuch places, which had been ſlightly paſſed over by the late Mr. Gmelin, or had undergone an alteration ſince he was there, eſpecially the diſtant Siberian mines and manu⯑factories, and the inhabited ſouthern frontiers, to collect carefully every remarkable plant, and do the ſame in [170] Zoology, thus fulfilling perfectly, what preceding tra⯑vellers had accidentally only taken up in their way, and whoſe labours were devoted to botanical views and, of courſe, but little had been tranſmitted to the ſcien⯑tific world. To accompliſh this plan, it was neceſſary not to loſe time, but to diſpatch the moſt learned of my aſſiſtants to different diſtricts. On the 24th, then, of February, I ſent Mr. Baſil Surjef through Tobolſkoi, to the northern town Bereſowa, ſituated on the Ob or Oby, from whence he was to proceed, in the begin⯑ning of ſummer, as far as Obdorſkoi Oſtrog, down the Ob, and, if paſſable, as far as the Icy Sea.

In the middle of march, Profeſſor Falk arrived here from Orenburg, with the laſt ſledge, having fixed up⯑on a Siberian tour and wiſhing to conſult me on the ſubject. He had made, along the line, a very pleaſant journey, but a very dangerous one, and came here a fortnight later than his aſſiſtant Mr. Georgi, celebrated by his tranſlations and other works of merit, and who came the ſtraight road over the Ural. The arrival of theſe gentlemen made my reſidence, in Tſcheljabyn⯑ſkaja, more agreeable than it had hitherto been, and I had only to lament that the ſudden arrival of ſpring obliged us to part company.

Capt. Ritſchkof, who had been with me moſt part of the winter, ſeemed diſinclined, on account of his deli⯑cate conſtitution, to travel with me into Siberia, and [171] requeſted me, to procure leave from the academy at Peterſburg, to return home, taking ſome diſtricts of the Ural in his way, that had not been viſited. This leave was obtained; but, it being juſt determined to diſpatch a body of light-horſe, from the fort Orſkaja, under the command of Colonel Traubenberg, into the Kirguiſian ſtep, in order to purſue the removed Kal⯑muck hordes, this excellent opportunity thus offering itſelf, Captain Ritſchkof could not withſtand, and as he wiſhed to accompany them, I conſented to his going. He went, and the ſucceſs of his difficult journey, with his obſervations, may be read in his own journal.

I prepared for my own journey, but, before my ſet⯑ting out, thought proper to pen down ſome general ac⯑count of the province of Iſetſkoi, where I wintered. Of all the ports that belong to the regency of Oren⯑burg, this is, inconteſtably, the happieſt for fertility and tillage, and tolerably well peopled; yet, not ſo much as it deſerves for the richneſs of it's ſoil. They reckon here 57,391 male inhabitants, among which are 4,352 that trade and pay no head-tax. The different Baſki⯑rian uluſſes, ſettled eaſtward from the Ural, conſiſting of 4,118 habitations, belong to this province, beſides 456 habitations of Medſcheraks and Tartars. If this population is compared with the extent of the province, which is near 225 miles long and broad, it will natural⯑ly occur, that even this great number of people is not ſufficient to cultivate the country. At preſent, they [172] ſow, annually, near 100,000 deſſatins of land, each deſſatin one hundred ſquare fathoms, and they com⯑monly reap ten-ſold of what they ſow. Rye and wheat are the chief grain here, but they ſow, occaſionally, barley and oats, not only ſupplying a great part of the line of Orenburg, but all the manufactories ſituated on the Ural and part of thoſe of Catherineburg. In the general failure of the crops, in 1769, when even in many places of this province, they ſcarce reaped as much as they ſowed, on account of the long, dry weather; yet the crops here were ſo great, as not only to ſupply the above-mentioned places, but alſo the ad⯑jacent provinces of the whole regency or government of Orenburg, and abſolutely ſaved them from famine.

Beſides the great growth of corn in this province, the ſoil, which is black and rich throughout, even to the depth of two feet in ſome places, yields not only the fineſt graſs, but is fit for gardens. All common vege⯑tables proſper here exceedingly, eſpecially turneps, which grow to an enormous ſize. Yet, through the negligence of the inhabitants, here are only ſown, coleworts, turneps and parſneps. They cultivate a few hops, but theſe growing ſo plentifully wild, every where in the Uralian mountains, raiſing them is un⯑neceſſary, Flax and hemp is alſo ſown here, but not being a ſaleable article, the farmer never ſows more than is neceſſary for his own uſe. In a garden, in the midſt of a deſert, which has been many years aban⯑doned, [173] I ſaw, with aſtoniſhment, ſpontaneouſly grow⯑ing, the mallow-flower, the turnſol, the French mari⯑gold, (Tagetes), and the holy thiſtle. Garden ſtraw⯑berries and the dwarf-cherry, (Ceraſus pumila), grows wild every where, and ſhews, that the ſoil is fit for any production that can be expected from a temperate clime.

There are no other manufactories in this province than a bad hat, and a glaſs, manufactory, ſome few tanneries, two brandy-diſtilleries belonging to the crown, and the iron-manufactories that have been mentioned.

The game here, is not of any great moment: two ſorts of martens are caught and ſome bad wolves and foxes. When the Kirgueſe are peaceable, ſportſmen go, with the leave of the commanding officers of their ſtep, and return loaded with the ſkins of ground-foxes, wolves, beavers and otters. In the ſtep of Iſetſkoi, they catch plenty of ermines of a fine ſize, and, during my ſlay here, the Tartars caught a ſable, not far from Tſcheljabynſkaja, which they looked upon as a great rarity.

In ſummer, there is plenty of water-game, and, in winter, a great abundance of wood-cocks and wild-geeſe. The mountains produce noble birds of prey, a fine ſpecies of falcons and ſparrow-hawks. In the [174] woods about the Iſet, we meet, ſometimes a ſpecies of ſparrow-hawk, (Falco palumbarius), which grows quite white when old and is much prettier and larger than the common ones.

On account of the numberleſs lakes, here are vaſt quantities of fiſh; the common ſort are ſold from twenty-five to thirty-five copecs per pud. If the bot⯑toms of the lakes are ſandy, the place is crowded with the Cypr. Idbarus, which are cheaper ſtill. They catch now and then a kind of Siberian trout, but they have neither bream nor crabs, though they are found in great plenty in the Jaik, almoſt up to it's ſource.

I muſt not omit ſpeaking of the air, which about the mountains is wonderfully healthy, and it's inhabitants live to a great age. Many countrymen are here met with, 100 years old, and I ſaw a ſoldier, at Troizkoi, who was 120; but the low part of the province, among the ſalt moraſſes and foul lakes, is ſubject to fevers and ſcorbutic diſorders; not ſo much, however, as to ſhorten the life of the inhabitants. The bitter ſalt-duſt, diſperſed by the wind, cauſes great inflammations of the eyes and boils upon the eye-lids, and, in this diſ⯑trict, the air-plague rages very much among horſes and deſtroys many, but does not inſect the people.

During the firſt week of March, we had a continual thaw and the air was ſo mild, that on the 24th, (Holy [175] Thurſday), many of the common people, bathed them⯑ſelves, (according to an old cuſtom derived from ſlaviſh heatheniſm), in the river, though covered ſtill with ice. They ſay, that, in former times, this was the feaſt of Kupal, the god of waters. So, on the Thurſday before Whit-ſunday, the country laſſes ho⯑nour, even now, with poetical ſongs and garlands, Lada, the ancient goddeſs of love, and her ſon Dida, their feaſt having been celebrated on that day, in the times of heatheniſm. From the 24th to the 27th, fell a great deal of ſnow, but, directly after, the weather became ſo warm, that the Mjaſs was freed from the ice by the end of the month and over-flowed it's banks. On the 7th of April, the waters ſunk and I thought proper to proceed on my journey, before the ſnow from the mountains ſwelled the rivers again. Several wan⯑dering birds appeared on the 19th of March, ſuch as jackdaws and cranes, and ſoon after, to the 24th, ſwans and all ſorts of ducks; and theſe, after the laſt ſnow on the 28th of March, were followed by geeſe, ſtarlings, larks and many wood and water-fowl. On the 4th of April, came the cuckow, alſo a ſpecies of buntling, and a bird called Fringilla calcarata, which runs about the fields in numbers, and is no where ſeen but in Siberia. On the 14th of April appeared the firſt inſects.

On the 16th, I left Tſcheljabynſkaja, which is a fort that was erected againſt the troubles among the Baſki⯑rians [176] and Kirgueſe. The place is fortified in the uſual mode with timber-works, and it's ſtreets are regular; it is ſituated on the ſleep and rocky bank of the river Mjaſs, has a ſtone-built and a wooden church, and many good public and private buildings. Moſt of the dwelling houſes are built in the country ſtile, and the occupation of moſt of the inhabitants is huſbandry.

The night before our departure, on the north ſide of the river, I ſaw the whole horizon in fire, owing to the ſt [...]p which had been burning three days; and, had not a heavy rain quenched the flames, the town would have been in danger, as the wind blew right towards the ſuburbs. Such ſtep-fires are very often ſeen in theſe diſtricts the whole latter half of April.

The firſt night we lay out on the field, but, at the next port we reached, we heard they had loſt ſeveral horſes, and examining them the people told me, they diſcovered a deep-ſeated boil on their buttocks, hidden under the ſkin, in which there was a ſhort worm, as thick as one's finger. They deſcribed this worm as too large for one to ſuppoſe it to be the Swediſh Curculio par [...]plecticus, yet the circumſtances, that cauſed the boil, were here the very ſame.

As ſoon as we croſſed the river Mjaſs with our horſes, I continued my journey along it, where are a number of villages, but the road ſtruck off through a hilly [177] diſtrict. Our eyes were charmed the whole day with the Siberian wind-flower, (Anemone patens), that grew every where, where the lands were not very ſalt. It is here and throughout Siberia called Wetriniza, (wind-flower), and is well known by the countryman, as the young peaſants often raiſe falſe boils on ſeveral parts of their bodies, with the bruiſed herb of this flower, in order to be declared incapable of military ſervice, when there is any preſs or levying of ſoldiers. In want of this herb, they make uſe of a kind of ſharp garlick, which will raiſe boils, but which are readily cured again, by covering them with wax. The peaſants alſo uſe a decoction of the wind-flower, againſt all convul⯑ſive complaints of their children. The fields were alſo embelliſhed with the pheaſants-eye, (Adonis Apennina), and the Adonis verna, which blooms ſooner. Both ſpe⯑cies here go by the ſame name. They preſerve the roots as the moſt important of all domeſtic remedies; and petulant girls uſe it occaſionally by way of revenge to bring on miſcarriage.

In my way on I croſſed, on the 21ſt of April, the river Kurtamyſch, on the banks of which, ſtands the market-town Kurtamyſch [...]fkaja, on an open, ſandy hill, round which, the river makes an extenſive bend. This town was erected twenty years ago, with all the villages that belong to it. It has a commiſſioner and a town-houſe, ſubordinate to the regency of Iſetſkoi, and to it's juriſdiction belong twenty-four villages, [178] ſituated on this river and on ſome little lakes, conſiſt⯑ing of 1850 men, the market-town Talofſkaja, with it's dependency, 2365 men, and Kaminſkaja 1935 men, the laſt two add 243 noble families, ſo that the male inhabitants of this whole diſtrict amount to 6393. This place, beſides the town-houſe and a wooden church, has only ſixty-eight dwelling-houſes. Before the line of Ui was erected, this was a fort, and it is ſtill ſur⯑rounded with the old works. The diſtrict is not very good for huſbandry, on account of the ſaltneſs of the ſoil, the beſt ſoil growing barren every three or four years, and wheat never thriving here at all. Former⯑ly, here were a great many elks in the hilly woods, but they have deſerted the place ſince it has been inhabited. They catch, however, a great many ermine, foxes, &c. ſometime the race-hare, (jaculus), and ſometimes ſtags, that wander here from the Kirguiſian ſtep.

The low-lands, are abundantly covered with a ni⯑trous ſalt, which lies over the moiſt ground, puffed up like foam. It contains a mixture of glauber-ſalt and ſo much alkali, that it efferveſces with acids. In general, all the ſalt-tracts here are ſo impregnated with a bitter and common ſalt, proportionably nitrous, that it may be ſqueezed from the ground in ſpring, in form of a ſpungy, very moiſt, white paper foam, which in long, dry weather breaks down into a ſnow-white flour. The cattle gather round this ſalt in great quan⯑tities, yet will eat but little of it, it having a urinous taſte.

[179]Having ſent on my waggons to Kaminſkaja, when I had examined this ſalty diſtrict ſufficiently, I followed them, and was there on the 22d of April. This place conſiſts of 130 houſes of ſubſtantial families, and lies on an arm of the Tobol, which abounds with all ſorts of fiſh, particularly barbel and roach, which are often near 18 inches long. In winter, this place is very watry and abounds with water-fowl, particularly large, white cranes, of which further mention ſhall be made. With all other ſorts of game the country abounds, and is rich even in elks and wild boars. Ducks are here taken flying, in ſuch nets as I deſcribed were erected in other parts to catch geeſe, and they alſo make ſnares of horſe-hair, faſtened in rows on a rope extended over the ſurface of the waters, in which ducks and other water-fowl are abundantly caught. The country-folks here, by a ſtrange ſuperſtition, incenſe theſe ſnares with the curled galls, that form themſelves on worm⯑wood and ſouthernwood, idly conceiving that it will prevent evil eyes bewitching the ſnares.

I ſat out from this place in order to croſs the Tobol, at twenty-ſix miles diſtance, but found that a ſtorm, the day before I arrived, had ſunk the ferry-boat and they had only a ſlight raft, much too ſlight to carry my two heavy waggons; beſides, I met with a party, on my way, of 500 dragoons, which were marching againſt the Kirgueſe, who had lately committed ſeveral robberies and ſeized ſome travellers, and as I could not [180] get a ſufficient eſcort at this place to paſs ſafely, I re⯑turned to this, determining to proceed by another route. But, to add to my mortification, one of the gentlemen with me, Mr. Sokolof, was attacked with an ague; my draftſman, who had ſunk into a lowneſs of ſpirits ſome months paſt, was now worſe, and an atten⯑dant, who had been afflicted with the ſcurvy, all the winter, fell ſick, and another had been thrown from a wild, Kirguiſian horſe, and lay in a very ſhocking and ſhattered condition; I could proceed only, therefore, in that ſlow way which the ſtate of my patients would admit.

On the 25th of April, I proceeded down the Tobol and picked up, in my way, a ſpecies of a little, grey dormouſe, with a black ſtripe on it's back, and a very long tail, (mus ſubtilis), very common in the birch⯑woods, near this place. This little animal falls aſleep in the leaſt cold, and creeps into ſmall chinks of the earth or holes in the ground, where it rolls itſelf up like a ball, till enlivened again by the warmth.

On the night of the 27th, we had a ſharp froſt, ſo as to freeze the water, and yet the flowers and flower⯑buds ſtood it well; for the plants in this climate agree well with it's different changes of weather. Down⯑wards, along the Tobol, there are many villages, and the diſtrict is as much inhabited as the moſt populous diſtrict in all Ruſſia.

[181]About fifty miles below Kaminſkaja, on the river Tobol, is ſituated the hill called Larew-Kurgan, a hill of an enormous height, raiſed by hand. But no cer⯑tain tradition has been left of it. It appears doubtful whether it is not a monument of ſome extraordinary event, or the tumulus of ſome perſon of diſtinction, erected by the ancient inhabitants of this diſtrict. The circumference of the hill is 480 feet, and is at ſixteen feet diſtance encompaſſed with an over-grown, circular bank, ten feet and a half high, and a ditch, which, in it's whole circuit, meaſures 700 feet. The form of this hill was conical, pointed at top, and was higher than at preſent, but a certain prince cauſed the top to be taken off and a deep pit to be dug into it, in order to diſcover it's contents; nothing, however, was found. The whole hill is richly covered with graſs and ſtands near a village, where they are erecting a ſtone⯑church, but as they are obliged to fetch their mortar a great way, it goes but ſlowly on. The inhabitants have here begun to erect their ovens with brick inſtead of thoſe which they uſed to build with clay, and which ſo often fired their malt-kilns. The ovens they now build are well vaulted, with vent-holes on the ſides, juſt underneath the roof, and a chimney cloſed at top, having a ſmoke-hole on each ſide. Through theſe ſmoke-holes no ſpark can get, ſo as to ſet fire to the ſtraw ſpread about it, and the whole kiln is thus pre⯑ſerved from taking fire, owing to the chimney's being cloſed at top.

[182]On the firſt of May, my patients being better, I croſſed the river Ik, which is here 105 feet over, and deep. ‘The villages are ſmall, but ſtand, in this coun⯑try, very thick, and a commiſſioner, who reſides in one of them, has the command of twenty or more according to their ſituation. They ſow here a great deal of rye, wheat, oats and millet, which is bought up by commiſſioners from the crown, and carried a⯑way in barges, in ſummer-time, and on ſledges in winter.’ On the night of the 2d. we had a violent ſtorm, accompanied with a fall of ſnow, which covered the ground a foot thick, and interrupted my journey, till the next day. We had ſcarce travelled twenty-three miles further, but my attendant, who was ſo ill with the ſcurvy, grew worſe. The great froſt had done him harm, and this added to clandeſtine intem⯑perance, carried him off, with a mortification in his bowels. I gave him every aſſiſtance in my power, but it was all in vain, he expired on the 3d of May, when he little expected it. I left ſome of my people to bury him, and continued my journey the ſame afternoon.

Thirty miles lower down the Tobol, is a conſider⯑able brandy-diſtillery, erected twenty years ſince, by two merchants, but belonging now to Count Schuwalof. Above three hundred houſes are here built along the Uk, which empties itſelf into the Tobol, and there is a fine wooden church and manſion for the direc⯑tor, with a garden, 'compting-houſe and ſtore-houſes. [183] Oppoſite to this are the diſtilleries, one of which has ten tubs, forty common coppers, three alembics and ſeveral receivers; another, thirty-five coppers and an⯑other thirty-one, with ſixty-three tubs, and each tub two receivers. Each tub contains ten tſchetwerts of malt, mixed with a fifth or ſeventh part of oats or bar⯑ley. The common coppers contain forty-two Ruſſian gallons each, and are all filled with the waſh of one tub, and theſe diſtillations come round in ſucceſſion once in four days, of courſe the buſineſs is carried on with⯑out interruption; ‘ſo, that if thirty coppers of forty-two gallons each, are filled from one tub, that holds ten tſchetwerts, we may eaſily know what a tſchet⯑wert is.’ Near each diſtillery is a large copper, from which the hot water is led by pipes into the tubs; and here are granaries and a large malt-kiln. They diſtill here from 30 to 40,000 tſchetwerts of malt, which is conveyed here in winter, and from each tſchet⯑wert, they draw three or four gallons of Ruſs brandy or ſpirits, which always goes through a ſecond diſtillation. A great deal of corn is raiſed about this place, and a number of people are conſtantly felling wood, &c. They cut the wood here very imprudently, for one may go through a tract of two or three miles long, and not ſee the veſtige of a tree left, except the roots. In the ſtill-houſes there is ſuch a thick vapour, that a ſtranger cannot ſtay a quarter of an hour in them, without be⯑ing intoxicated, and the vapour is ſo ſpirituous, that it might be kindled with a light. I endeavoured to per⯑ſuade [184] the proprietors of the loſs they ſuſtained, in paſ⯑ſing their ſpirit through a ſecond diſtillation, in which it loſes a third of it's ſtrength, but it was to no purpoſe; they ſaid it was ſtrong enough, and were unconcerned at the loſs: but, it ſhould be conſidered, that the loſs is not only to them, but to the country at large, as it waſtes a conſiderable quantity of corn.

The people whom I left to bury their fellow-travel⯑ler, joined me on the 5th of May, and we ſat off the following day together, early in the morning, and after travelling 225 miles paſt many villages, that contained nothing more remarkable than what I had ſeen before, and many tumuli. I found myſelf in a diſtrict of the Iſchimian ſtep, full of uncommon large lakes, and, therefore, abounding with water-fowl, and particularly that large ſpecies of white cranes, of which I was deſi⯑rous of knowing ſome particulars. I reſolved, there⯑fore, to ſtay a couple of days in this place, Krataja, and to ſend out for ſome of theſe birds. One of the lakes in this ſtep is twenty-two miles long, and ſeven miles broad. All of them are very full of fiſh and feed great quantities of water-fowl, which, as the inhabi⯑tants are thin, build their neſts here in tolerable ſafety. About one of theſe lakes, called Mangut, which is almoſt inacceſſible, on account of it's ſwamps, are many wild boars, and about the lake Saltaim have been built, within theſe ten years, ſeveral villages, colo⯑nized [185] by perſons who have been tranſported into Sibe⯑ria for little miſdemeanours.

On the 11th, the perſons I ſent to bring me ſome of thoſe white cranes, returned with ſeveral, (Grus Leuco⯑geranus). It was with difficulty they could get them to ſtand ſo as to have a ſhot at them, for theſe birds are much more cautious than other cranes, and if they once ſee a man, even at the greateſt diſtance, ſoar up into the air with a muſic equal to that of the ſwan. Their height, ſtanding upright, is five feet, and this enables them to ſee a great way, and they are ſo timid as to ſuſpect every, the leaſt, motion of a reed. It is, therefore, neceſſary that a gunner ſhould approach them quite covered, whilſt they are feeding on ſmall fiſhes on the banks of the lakes, which is their cuſto⯑mary food. Timid as they are before men, they are bold enough againſt dogs, whom, as ſoon as they ſee, they will attack with great fury forgetting the lurking ſportſman, who is with them. If any man approaches their neſts, they are equally bold, will never fly, but protect their abode to the laſt, and, on account of their large ſize and the ſharpneſs of their bills, are formidable enemies. They build their neſts in ſolitary, ruſhy mo⯑raſſes and fens, on hillocks of ſea-weed and twiſted ruſhes. The male and female guard the neſt by turns. They lay but two eggs, which are as large as a gooſe-egg and ſpotted with yellow, green and brown. This was juſt the ſeaſon of their breeding. In one year's [186] time, the young crane is almoſt as large as the old one, and his body is covered with ochre-yellow feathers, whiter under the belly and about the head, and his bill is blackiſh. In the ſecond year, he becomes white and keeps only the outermoſt wing-feathers; the head grows red above the eyes, where there are no feathers, but only ſmall, red hairs. At this time, the bill-ſkin and feet are red. and the neck continues yellow, but deeper and more firy, which, as the bird grows older, becomes white as a ſwan. This bird flies from over the Caſpian ſea, in the ſpring of the year, commonly ſingle and very high in the air, but is no where ſo fre⯑quently to be met with as are the common cranes.

The next thing I enquired for, was the flying ſquir⯑rel, and ſent ſome hunters abroad into the birch-woods in ſearch of ſome. This wonderful little animal, (Sciurus volans), is common from the Uralian moun⯑tains, throughout all northern Aſia or Siberia, where there are any birch-woods, with or without firs; is al⯑ways ſeen on high and builds it's neſts in the trunks of trees, from whence it does not go out but at twilight or night, to feed upon the birches, it's food being the fruit that grows upon the birch, ſmall and brown in winter, blooming in ſpring and filled with ſeeds in ſum⯑mer, thus ſerving as aliment to this animal through⯑out the whole year. Where there are fir trees, it eats their buds and it's entrails have, then, a very reſinous ſmell; but, otherwiſe, they have a birch-ſmell. It [187] ſeldom runs upon the ground, and yet is in the habit of dropping it's dung at the bottom of thoſe trees where it lives. When it leaps from one tree to another, it ſpreads out the ſolds of it's fur, with all it's feet, which from the fore-feet to the ham, may be extended on both ſides by a bone, like wings, with which it will quiver in the air, ſomething like flying, and can direct itſelf in it's flight by it's woolly and broad tail. In this manner it will fly or leap to the diſtance of 140 feet, not horizontally, but in an oblique direction downwards from the top of one tree to the middle or trunk of an⯑other. When it climbs the birch-tree, it is ſcarcely diſtinguiſhable, by it's white-grey colour, from the bark of theſe trees; thus has Nature wiſely protected this animal from nocturnal birds of prey. This is the ſeaſon in which the flying ſquirrel drops it's young; they commonly bring forth only two, ſometimes three and but rarely four: they are firſt callow and blind. I kept a neſt, that was brought me, a long time. The mother ſat the whole day over her young ones, and wrapped them up in her wing-ſkin; but at night, as ſoon as the ſun was ſet, ſhe covered them with moſs and went to ſearch her food. The young ones grew very ſlowly, and did not get their hair and fore-teeth till after the ſpace of ſix days. They remained blind to the thirteenth day, when I found them all dead, and one almoſt devoured by the mother. If theſe animals, when brought to me, were but two days old, and, by their ſize, they appeared to be of that age, they muſt [188] remain blind for a fortnight after their birth, which is not the caſe with any quadruped we know as yet. The mother died ſoon after, notwithſtanding all attempts were made to ſave the little creature's life. I might have had better ſucceſs in winter, but then it is hard to catch them. They often fall into thoſe bruiſing traps, ſet on trees to catch ſquirrels with.

On the 15th of May, the heat of the weather was equal to 105 deg. and a half of De L'Iſle's thermome⯑ter, had encreaſed one deg. and a half within the laſt three days, and was attended with a violently hot, ſouthern ſtorm, that blew hard and carried with it a great deal of ſalt-duſt, which hurt our eyes much. Towards night, we heard a great buſtling and the noiſe of a vaſt quantity of water-fowl, ſuch as ſwans, ducks, herons, divers, &c. which continued till midnight. This was the ſecond prognoſtication we had, by aquatic muſic, of an approaching froſt; for, after twelve o'clock at night, the wind changed to the north, and blew all the next day ſo cold, that we were obliged to look for our furs; yet, we found in bloom, the oalerian (Valeriana officinalis), the chichling vetch, (Lathyrus piſiſormis), the ſky-ſlower, (Cineraria, paluſtris & Alpi⯑na), and ſeveral little bell-flowers; and, the more ſouthward we travelled, the more plants we met with in bloom.

[189]Having given no deſcription of a particular way of catching ſturgeon, in the river Wolga, with a tackling they call ſnaſt; as I met with the ſame here, in the river Irtiſh, under the name of ſamolowi, ſomewhat different from the ſnaſt of the Caſpian ſea, the reader ſhall have it now. The whole conſiſts of a baſt rope, well tarred, between twenty and forty fathoms long, on which they faſten, at the diſtance of ſix inches from each other, if for ſmall fiſh; but at twelve inches, if for large fiſh, ſmall cords, likewiſe beſmeared with tar; on theſe ſtrings, they tie ſtrong and ſharp hooks, four or five inches long, greaſed with tallow to prevent ruſt; in the middle of the curve of theſe hooks, is a line of horſe⯑hair, twiſted, having a ſmall float at it's end, of willow⯑bark, as light as cork. After each tenth hook, they faſten a ſtone on the laſt rope, ſufficient to ſink it, and, at one end, a wooden anchor to ſecure the whole, at the other, a rope with a baſket, or ſome other thing that will [...] and ſerve as a buoy. In this ſtate, the tackling is caſt into deep places in the ſtream, let⯑ting the anchor firſt down, that the current may not carry it off. By means of the floats to each hook, the hooks are kept from touching the bottom, and the ſturgeon and huſos, which rove about the bottom, beating the water with their flanks and tails, are ſure to hook themſelves in one part or other: ſo wounded, they are more agitated, beat and laſh the water more, and are, by this means, hooked in ſeveral other parts, ſo as not to be able to eſcape. The fiſhermen draw up [190] theſe ropes every day, take off the fiſh caught, and re⯑place the rope in the water at night. This fiſhery is continued all the ſummer. In the Wolga, they ſtretch ſuch ropes acroſs the whole arm of a river; and, in the Caſpian ſea, bait the hooks with a ſmall fiſh called an obla, which bjelugas bite at, and are caught by the throat, as I have had occaſion to ſpeak of.

In the banks of the Irtiſh, are ſometimes found, teeth and other bones of elephants, brought forth by the water. ‘Theſe have lain buried in the earth a long time, and denote ſome extraordinary change in it, as I ſhall ſpeak further of hereafter.’ I met here, alſo, with a ſpecies of large, yellow-headed lark, (Ca⯑landra); they are fond of flying about the road, ſingly, but do not fly high nor ſing near ſo well as the field⯑lark, but, like the latter, build in the graſs and feed upon graſs-hoppers and other ſmall inſects.

On my arrival at Omſkaja, a fort on the river Irtiſh, on the 17th of May, I went to Major Staniſlaſky's, to ſee ſome maps that had been made of Siberia, convin⯑ced there were ſuch things in his poſſeſſion, left by the late General Springer, who died juſt before we arrived, and who was a lover of the ſcience of geography. Af⯑ter waiting two days I was informed, that, without ſpe⯑cial orders from Peterſburgh, I could not be ſhewn any of them. Notwithſtanding all I could ſay, I could not get a ſight of thoſe which I wanted to ſee, and from [191] this I collected that the commanders here diſliked my tour and the buſineſs I was entruſted with. Indeed, till the day of my departure, I could obtain nothing but an order for a change of horſes at different places, and theſe, the worſt in the garriſon; and, in this order, they left it to the option of thoſe officers who com⯑manded the forts I was to travel through, whether they would ſupply me with regimental horſes or not. I dreaded, therefore, every poſſible obſtacle, and this cold and ungentleman-like reception the more ſurprized me, as I had been, every where elſe, loaded with all imaginable civility and kindneſs, by the governors and commanding-officers where I paſſed. I conſidered this, however, as a new proof of the old truth, that the God of War is no friend to the Muſes.

I remained, however, at Omſkaja, to repair and re⯑fit till the 22d. Omſkaja has it's name from the river Om, being ſituated near it's mouth into the Irtiſh. A new fort has been here erected by Lieutenant-General Springer, the old one having been entirely decayed, and is well fortified, according to the rules of modern for⯑tification. It was begun in 1768, and in great for⯑wardneſs when I was there. Within it, is a handſome manſion for the governor, with a ſtone foundation; a court-martial and a military ſtore-houſe, with artillery; a houſe for the chief prieſt, and ſeveral ſtreets of well⯑built houſes; a fine ſtone-built church, a military-aca⯑demy, a houſe for the reception of ſtrangers of diſtinc⯑tion [192] and one for the proteſtant preacher of the Siberian diviſion, beſides other houſes for officers, &c. On the Irtiſh lies, within the fort, the magazine of proviſions, and, in the chief ſquare of the fort, are ſeveral fine fountains. In ſhort, it has the appearance of a fine city. Part of the old fort will be demoliſhed with the old cathedral and the church-yard only left, where a monument has been erected to General Springer.

Forty miles from Omſkaja, where I arrived on the 23d of May, is a guard ſtation, where a new fort is built, and the place is colonized with a number of ex⯑iled Tartars, ſent here to carry on the works at Om⯑ſkaja. Near this poſt, an Engliſh officer, who former⯑ly commanded here, has made a fine kitchen-garden. The ſand, taken out from the ditch of the redoubt, is [...]ed with Tellin [...] muſcles, half calcined, often met with on the higher ſhores of the Irtiſh, but never in the river itſelf, and are inconteſtably a marine production. Put the moſt remarkable circumſtance is, there being only this ſingle ſpecies of muſcle-ſhells, to be found throughout the ſandy ſteps upon the Irtiſh, without any other trace of petrified ſea-bodies; and, it is no leſs worthy the notice of a naturaliſt, that they are found abundantly, quite near the ſurface of the earth, whilſt the borders of the river, which conſiſt of ſand and loam, and the other ſteps, wherein they are found, are ſix, eight, my even ten fathoms above the higheſt le⯑vel of the water.

[193]I never met, any where, with ſo great a number of water-ſwallows, as about the high-ſhores of the Irtiſch. In many places their holes and neſts are ſo near each other, that if one ſtands on the brink of the ſhore and treads a little hard, they will ſwarm out in crowds and hover about like flies. Here, alſo, builds the houſe-ſwallow her neſt, with the water-ſwallow. The former makes a hole in the land, but not ſo deep as the latter. The houſe-ſwallow's hole is merely large enough for ner neſt. Theſe two ſpecies of ſwallows, are found here in abundance, but they do not like to mix. One ſpot ſhall be found full of the neſts of the water-ſwal⯑low and another of the houſe-ſwallow.

In our way from Omſkaja, we paſſed many ſcattered tumuli, about ninety miles from that place; theſe tu⯑muli are not raiſed ſo high as in general; they are flat and of mean appearance, and the body not buried more than eighteen or twenty inches deep: the bones, how⯑ever, that we found, were quite ſound. The head lies to the weſt and they are, probably, the graves of the idolatrous Barabynian Tartars. Valuable things are not commonly found herein, but, in ſome, they have found copper, and in ſome few, better metals.

The high, ſandy ſhores of the Irtiſch, which are mixed with loam, lie moſtly in layers and ſeem to have been carried there by the deluge. One layer, near eight fathoms, or more, above the higheſt water⯑mark, [194] is mixed with the tellinae I have mentioned. Moſt of them are calcined, but have preſerved ſome⯑thing of their outward, horn-like, upper-ſkin. Theſe very layers, in which the muſcles are diſperſed, contain all ſorts of bones, ſome of elephants and ſome of other animals, nay, even the bones of fiſh-heads; of courſe, they muſt have been brought hither by ſome vaſt inun⯑dation; or it is a proof that the ſea, formerly, ſtretched itſelf entirely over theſe plains. It is not the river, that cauſes here ſuch great ſinkings or excavations of the ground, as we meet with, but ſtrong, ſubterranean ſprings, that guſh forth in inconceivable ſtreams, from underneath the high, ſandy layers, and from a grey clay, that does not lie much higher than the level of the water. Theſe ſtreams are of a brackiſh taſte, and it leads me to think they muſt proceed from the great lake I have mentioned. Indeed it is very dangerous to travel over many ſpots of the low-ſhore, as one often ſinks ſuddenly into a bottomleſs ſwamp.

Between thirty and forty miles from the Irtiſch, are three large ſalt-lakes, where the pureſt and fineſt com⯑mon ſalt lies at the bottom of the whole lakes, a foot in thickneſs; but, in leſs quantity near the ſhore. The largeſt of theſe lakes, is about two miles long and a⯑bout 450 fathoms over; in ſerene weather, the water has a blood-red appearance, though it is perfectly tranſparent. A guard of Tartarian Coſſacks is placed here, to prevent the ſalt being taken away to the in⯑jury [195] of the revenue, and have habitations adjoining them. Here I met with, in the wet low-lands, a weed called the Acorus, which is dug up by travellers, in or⯑der to preſerve furs from the moth, and which they aſſured me was very efficacious.

Travelling on by the Irtiſch, I met with more ele⯑phant-bones and a ſhoulder-bone, which ſeemed to belong to a buffalo; alſo, ſome large, animal ſkulls, of which there is now no animal ſo large in all Aſia. I paſſed over a ſtep, where a number of horſes lay a⯑bout dead, which died of the air-plague. They lay in ſuch numbers as to reſemble a field of battle.

In the fort Korjakofskoi, which is one of the moſt populous on the Irtiſch and the beſt built, commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel, are two ſalt-magazines, be⯑longing to the crown, and always containing a proviſi⯑on of ſome hundred thouſands puds of ſalt, for a ſupply in caſe of want. Theſe ſtores lay in large heaps, co⯑vered with mats, ready for tranſportation, in barges to the Irtiſch, which lies at the diſtance of about ſixteen miles. Each barge will carry from 17 to 18,000 puds, and down the Irtiſch it is conveyed to the Imperial ſalt-office, not far from Tobolſkaja.

If it was not for ſeveral plants that grow on theſe ſandy ſteps, ſuch as the Axyris ceratoides, the Siberian centaury and the wonderful wild liquorice, (Aſtralagus) [196] the ſand would not be ſufficiently ſolid to paſs over: but this aſtralagus grows between the ſand-hills, creep⯑ing with numberleſs thin, divided twigs, through the ſand, gathering itſelf round it and thus forming hil⯑locks, from four to ſix feet in diameter; the ſmall, grey leaves of this plant covering the ſand entirely. The bloom ſcarce riſes above the ground, but it is di⯑rectly covered with ſand and the little cods, that hold the ſeed, ripen under the ſand. I believe this fine plant, hitherto unknown to botaniſts, is very uſeful in rendering the quickſands firm. And here we ſaw, firſt, that fine and new ſpecies of mice, (Mus arena⯑rius). The cods of the wild liquorice is their natural food.

In ſome ſpots of theſe ſandy deſarts, I ſaw ſuch crowds of graſhoppers as covered the earth quite black, in tracts from fifty to ſixty fathoms. Theſe were un⯑winged, but I could ſee by crowds that were winged and whoſe wings were of a pale-red, that they were the Cryllus Italicus of Linnaeus. This inſect was here in ſuch vaſt abundance upon whole tracts of dry and ſandy hills, as to have devoured every green plant and herb, except the ſandwort, the ſharp paſque-flower, (Pulſatilla), and old wormwood-ſtalks: they had even eat the milk-thiſtle.

I could not but take notice, (and I mention it on account of it's rareneſs), of a large wolf advancing [197] near the road and ſtarting before us a breeding duck; this animal looked at us a little while, with a great deal of phlegm, without being in the leaſt diſmayed at our noiſe; after this, went ſlowly on behind us, and croſſed the road with equal coolneſs. The conduct of ſuch an animal, ſo ſhy in the ſight of men in ſummer, is remarkable.

Wherever we paſſed, during the hot days of June, we were dinged with the noiſe of little crickets, and I could not help thinking with enthuſiaſm of the Poet's deſcription.

"The ſhady groves with crickets chirp."

The 15th of June was ſultry, almoſt to ſuffocation; yet De L'Iſle's thermometer, in the ſhade, pointed at 104 deg. But we rode along ſome very dry and ſtony mountains, that reflected the rays of the ſun and added to the natural heat. Nothing green could be ſeen but buſhes of wild roſes, the thrift, (Spirea), and the ſcarlet Convolvulus fruteſcens. The mountains conſiſt, here, of a ſolid chalk-ſtone, which is broken and burnt on the ſpot, by tranſported miſcreants. Here, alſo are 100 Coſſacks employed in felling wood, which number is changed every three years. Among theſe, a Tartarian Orpheus, who played us a tune on a Kir⯑guiſian [198] fiddle, but not with ſufficient charms to move the ſtones. This inſtrument is a monochord of two unequal ſtrains, in form of a lute, the belly of which is narrow from below and but half covered with a ſounding bottom. The ſtrings are horſe-hair and it is played with a horſe-hair bow, and, when ſounded, re⯑ſembles the ſinging of ſwans; indeed the inſtrument bears much the ſimilitude of a ſwan.

On the 21ſt, I was at the ſort Semipalatnaja, where Dr. Gmelin has deſcribed as ſituated ſome ruins of an⯑cient buildings. Some of theſe I ſaw, but one or two which he deſcribes, I could not meet with, or they muſt have been obliterated ſince he was there. I ſlop⯑ped here in order to make an excurſion and take a view of them. About ſeven miles from this place, we drew near the Irtiſh, and about a mile further, we ſaw theſe ruins on a high border, which conſiſts of ſlate-rocks, and on which is a picket-guard. Here are the remains of three buildings, the ſtructure of which is mean and appears to be Bucharian, and the buildings are diſpoſed without any order. The firſt is a wretched, quadran⯑gular hut, 260 fathoms diſtant from the others, without windows, built with unburnt bricks, nineteen feet ſquare, with a very low and narrow gate on the weſtern ſide, towards the river, and three air-holes on the ſouth⯑ern ſide. The roof is planks, overſpread with loam, and broke in. Of the other two, the walls only are ſtanding, part of which is built of thoſe thin ſlates of [199] which the mountain conſiſts, fitted together as well as poſſible, and cemented with loam inſtead of mortar.

Seven miles from the guard-ſtation, on the Irtiſh, is the bartering market, where trade is carried on between the Aſiatic merchants and the Kirgueſe. This place conſiſts of a certain number of little, wooden houſes, or booths, divided into ſeveral ſtreets, and encompaſſed with a ditch and chevaux-de-frize, and are inhabited, or deſtined for ſtore-houſes, by native Ruſſian or Tar⯑tarian merchants, or ſuch Bucharians as arrive with caravans. Over the Irtiſh is a ferry, and on the op⯑poſite ſhore are ſome huts, erected purpoſely for Kir⯑guiſian commerce. Moſt of the Bucharians come from Taſchkent, in Little Bucharia; and there were, when I was there, ſome caravans with ordinary cotton goods. This people is more obſtinate and uncivilized than thoſe from Great Bucharia. The bartering trade carried on with the Kirgueſe, is moſt advantageous to the inland merchants, becauſe theſe Kirgueſe, being of the middle horde and living on the Irtiſh, are very ſim⯑ple and take trifles, at a high rate, for their cattle; ſo that the merchants, notwithſtanding their long journey to this place, get a great deal by what they purchaſe. The Kirguiſian ſheep are here of two kinds, a large ſpecies and a ſmaller one, like thoſe of the Kalmucks. Horſes are ſold here from four to fifteen and twenty ru⯑bles each, horned cattle, from two to four rubles each, and ſheep, from thirty to ſeventy copecs a-piece.

[200]On the 22d I ſet out, in the afternoon, and our horſes were ſo bad, that they could ſcarce draw our waggons over the ſand-hills. It was night when we paſſed the laſt, at ſeven miles from the fort. Two of the waggons were obliged to ſtop at the firſt ſand-hill, the horſes being knocked up, whilſt I took up my lodging in the woods, and was unable to proceed any further till noon, the next day. The reſt of the road to Oſernoi Staniz, where I was going, is tolerably le⯑vel, and we met with nothing worth notice in our way but a tumulus, on which ſtood a ſtone with the princi⯑pal features of a man's face carved on it. It was thir⯑teen inches broad, fifteen long and four and a half thick.

The many changes of heat and cold which I ſubject⯑ed myſelf to, when I left my waggons in order to ſearch for plants, and the daily cold and ſtormy ſhow⯑ers to which I was expoſed, brought on a dyſentery and made me ſo weak, that I could get ſcarce up and down from the waggon; but, as I determined to reſt myſelf at Kraſnojarſkaja, I made the beſt of my way there, and with as much expedition as my painful ſituation would admit. It was at the diſtance of twenty-ſeven miles, and I got there on the 30th of June. In my road, I paſſed an enormous tumulus, raiſed on the higheſt ſpot of the whole diſtrict, and was told, it had once been opened by a body of 150 peaſants, and theſe diggers of hidden treaſures, found in it no leſs than [201] forty-ſix pounds of gold, which they ſhared among them.

The gold found in theſe graves, the many mines that have been here opened, and the ſcattered tumuli repreſenting the beds of reſt of the ancient Teutonic heroes, with the faſhion of their tools, arms and furni⯑ture found within, puts it beyond a doubt, that the metallic mountains of the Irtiſh and Jeneſei were for⯑merly worked by one and the ſame nation.

Kraſnojarſkaja was a bad place and a very unfit abode for me, in my diſorder, to halt at, as the water was unwholeſome and the refracted heat of the adjacent mountains injurious, but I could get no further, and was confined to my bed for three weeks. However, that I might loſe no time, I ſent Mr. Sokolof off, in company with my draftſman, on the 6th of July, in order to deſcribe the diſtricts on both ſides of the Irtiſh, with orders to meet me on the ſerpent-mountain, where I hoped to be able to wait for him.

Kraſnojarſkaja is a new-erected village, like many others, that have been built ſince the year 1764, and colonized partly with Poliſh emigrants of Ruſſian ex⯑traction and of the old Greek religion, partly with peaſants from the innermoſt parts of Ruſſia, or ſuch who, for little miſdeameſnors, have been here exiled; partly, alſo, with voluntary coloniſts, from the more [202] populous parts of Siberia. This village has been erec⯑ted but three years and has, at preſent, only twenty houſes; moſt of the inhabitants are exiles, to whom the Empreſs has been pleaſed to reſtore their liberty, and enable them, once more, to enjoy the ſweets of domeſtic life, by peopling this deſart part of the world. The clemency and philanthropy of the Mother of this country, has extended ſo far as to ſupply theſe wretches, like other coloniſts, for the firſt three years, with mo⯑ney and proviſion, monthly; and ſuch wiſe proceed⯑ings will, doubtleſs, render theſe diſtricts, in time, as populous as other parts of Siberia. Indeed, moſt of theſe new villages are ſo happily ſituated for agricul⯑ture, that the inhabitants cannot but be proſperous. The only complaint of this and other villages, ſituated on the Uba, is the unwholeſomeneſs of it's water, which is apt to cauſe fevers, eſpecially to ſtrangers, and, as the country folks, here, imprudently nurſe ſuch fevers by aſtringents, it brings on lameneſs and other nervous effects. And yet the people ſeem rather diſ⯑poſed to uſe this water, than ſearch for good wells. My whole retinue ſuffered by drinking it. Every man, except one, was afflicted with a fever ſo irregular, that no remedies could cure it. After we left the place, the diſorder lurked about them for three weeks.

July, 17, 1771. We left Kraſnojarſkaja on the 17th, travelled up the Uba and viſited the lead⯑mines, in which is found copper and a ſmall quantity [203] of ſilver, and, on the 27th, Mr. Sokolof joined us. He had travelled down the Uba, and brought me an ac⯑count of a great curioſity, in the diſtrict of Uſtkame⯑nogorſkaja, to be ſeen, in the remains of a fortified, Kal⯑muck Pagoda, which goes by the name of Ablaikit.

The Pagoda Ablaikit, lies out from the frontiers of the Ruſſian empire, on the left ſide of the Irtiſch, in a deſart formerly inhabited by the Dſungorian Kalmucks, but now by the middle horde of the Kirgueſe. The hiſtory of it's building, by Ablai, a Prince of the Kal⯑mucks, and it's deſtruction may be ſeen in a remark⯑able treatiſe, written by counſellor Muller, and pub⯑liſhed among the works of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, at Peterſburgh, and, alſo, in the tour of Mr. Gmelin. It is in ruins, but the ruins ſhew, that all the magnificence of an uncivilized, Aſiatic people is capable of, has been laviſhed upon it.

After having taken Mr. Sokolof's baggage into my waggons, we ſet off; on the 27th of July for the Serpent-Mountain. We croſſed the river Alei, and came into a deep valley, encompaſſed on all ſides with ſteep and rocky mountains a vale delightfully cool and refreſh⯑ing, in arid, ſultry weather, enamelled with flowers and frequented by all ſorts of wild fowl; which renders it, throughout the year, an agreeable place to the neighbouring people, muſt furniſh their tables with the [204] moſt delicate productions, and afford them comforts which even a prince might envy.

The mountains here are covered with birch and pop⯑lars, wild roſes and raſberry-buſhes, a fruit the bears are very fond of, and will very often take them from women and children, who go out to gather them, with⯑out doing them any harm; neither will they, in ſum⯑mer, attack any man, unleſs much provoked. From the heights of Oſſinowa Gora, we had an awful ſight of the ſteep and rocky, towering clifts of the adjacent mountain, called, in Ruſs, Bjelki, whoſe top was co⯑vered with ſnow, and which may be ſeen at ſeventy-five miles diſtance. This mountain is called the Snow-Mountain, is much torn, and it's aſcent ſo ſteep, as to have one precipice, or rock-wall, 150 fathoms in per⯑pendicular height, each fathom ſeven feet Engliſh, down which tumbles the river Tigerak, with a tre⯑mendous roar. This river is, here, fifteen fathoms wide, and prodigiouſly rapid. Before we reach this precipice, which is acceſſible only in two places, we deſcry, at a diſtance, another enormous mountain, whoſe conical ſummit riſes in a ſtupendous, rocky py⯑ramid, far above the clouds. Theſe mountains and their gigantic brethren, appeared now more dreadful, as many gloomy thunder-clouds gathered round their tops and brought on continual rain, till the 2d of Aug. when the ſky cleared up. (See the plate.)

[205]As we rode from the mountain Oſſinowa Gora to the next poſt, the open valleys, on our left, exhibited a delightful and unexpected change in the vegetable kingdom. We had not ſeen a remarkable plant for ſome time, and all the graſs had loſt it's verdure; but here, the mountains and vallies were covered with a vernal green, like ſpring, and numberleſs planes were in bloom. The moſt remarkable were the fellwort, (Gentiana verna), the catmint, (Nepeta multifida), the dragon's head, (Dracocephalum peregrinum), the bitter vetch, (Orobus lathyroides), the French honey-ſuckle, (Hedyſarum Alpinum), the liquorice, (Aſtraga⯑lus Syriacus), the John's-wort, (Hyperycum Aſcyron), the rhubarb, (Rheum undulatum), which often grows out from the bare clefts of the rock; the milkwort, (Polygala Sybirica), and the cinquefoil, (Potentilla fruticoſa), which grew like buſhes, with high rods, and decorated the vallies every where: alſo many ſpe⯑cies of Abrotonum, ſeveral ſorts of wild leeks and a ſmall ſpecies of ſwordgraſs, which Linnaeus has taken no notice of; it is a common plant and has very few flowers. Among other plants in this diſtrict, an ele⯑gant one and hitherto unknown to botaniſts, is the Spi⯑rea, with thick rods, which the Coſſack hunters make uſe of as ram-rods to their fire-locks.

This diſtrict was, in every reſpect, ſo very remark⯑able, that I wiſhed to have been here a month ſooner, to have climbed up the [...]ountains myſelf, which my [206] illneſs had now rendered me too infirm to do; indeed, I was ſo weak as not to be able to walk half a mile. I diſpatched, therefore, Mr. Sokolof, with a huntſman and an eſcort of Coſſacks, to the high mountains, and viſited the lower ones and their caverns myſelf, in which I found a number of ſtone-ſwallow's-neſts, (Hi⯑rundo alpeſtris), the pellitory (Parietaria), and little, ſtinking figwort (Scrophularia), with white bloſſoms, growing upon the ſtones. In one cavern, whoſe en⯑trance was twenty-ſix feet broad and ſixteen feet high, ſomewhat wider in it's continuation, and running 160 feet right into the mountain, I found many human bones and ſome few, little trifles carved in wood, per⯑haps ſome ſuperſtitious ornaments of the Kalmucks. Here I met with three Kalmuck ſkulls, and I will de⯑clare them to be Kalmuck, as from the flatneſs of the ſkull they are diſtinguiſhable from thoſe of any other men. Theſe bodies were, perhaps, here placed by a peculiar order of the prieſts, or ſome Kalmucks might have been killed, in this cavern, by accident. On the rock, without, grew plentifully the ſaſifrage, (Saxi⯑fraga craſſifolia), vulgarly called, there, the Mongali⯑an tea; for, as the trade with China was, for ſome time, interrupted, and the tea, that was imported at Peterſburgh and Archangel, too dear, in theſe re⯑mote diſtricts; this plant was introduced by the name of Tſahagirian tea, and the people learned, from the Mongols and Siberian Tartars, to boil it like common tea. It's leaves do not fade and die in one year, but [207] become only dry and brown, afterwards blackiſh, and it is four years before they drop off entirely. It gives the water a red tea-colour, with a taſte like that of bad bohea, which, if the plant is not too much boiled, is tolerable; but not ſo good, that any one would take it in preference to other tea. The freſh leaves, like the roots of this plant, are uncommonly bitter and ſtyptic, of courſe, are not fit to be taken. It is, however, worth trial, whether this plant, which I found antiſep⯑tic in the higheſt degree, is not a good remedy in fe⯑vers. I am confident it poſſeſſes ſome medicinal vir⯑tue. It is found here, on the north ſide of all rocky mountains, in vaſt quantities.

On the 1ſt of Auguſt, Mr. Sokolof returned from his troubleſome tour, his companion, not knowing his way. They climbed up a mountain covered with larches, firs and pines, and ſo much bewildered with buſhes, that their cloaths were torn to rags. The moſt curious thing he brought me, was a ſpecies of ſtone-hare, (Lepus Alpinus), which lives about the rocky brooks of the high mountains, and is common in all the eaſtern mountains of Siberia. They are not much larger than a guinea-pig, weigh about fifteen ounces, are of a yellowiſh colour, have large, round ears and, inſtead of a tail, a little lump of fat. (See the plate and the deſcription, at the end of this volume). They inhabit the clefts of rocks; if the weather be ſoggy, will ſet the whole day in the open air, but, towards [208] night, retire on the outſide of thoſe clifts that project from the graſs, and whiſtle. They will then ſuffer a perſon to approach them very near, but, if ſhot at will throw themſelves into their clefts, yet appear again, ſoon after. A wonderful quality of this animal, is their mowing the graſs, after the month of July, with their teeth, and carrying it, as a winter-proviſion of hay, in heaps, into their clefts, ſo that one may diſ⯑cover the dwellings of theſe animals by the heaps of graſs on the rocks. This animal reminds me to ob⯑ſerve, that though they abound in the wild frontier-mountains, they are almoſt loſt within the frontiers, as the country, there, is more populous. For this rea⯑ſon, ſportſmen, in the favourable ſeaſon for catching them, go, with the leave of the commanding officers, without the frontiers, into deſart and woody diſtricts, where they find them in plenty. They catch here, alſo, a number of fables, whoſe ſkins are ſhort-haired, but very fine and black; and, alſo, a great quantity of martens, which, further northward in Siberia, are not to be met with, and are very rare in the upper diſtrict of the river Jeniſei. Another ſpecies of little, foreſt-animal, whoſe reddiſh fur is but of little value and coſts, here, four or five copecs each, is what they call Kulonki, a ſpecies of weaſel not yet deſcribed, which is very abundant about the Jeniſei and no where elſe to be ſeen, but in the woody diſtricts of Siberia. It's name is of Tartarian origin, and implies a glutton, it having been obſerved that this animal, if caught in a ſnare or [209] trap withot her animals, and not ſoon taken out, will de⯑vour all that is with it. It ſteals, like the pole-cat, in⯑to villages and robs the peaſants of meat, butter and other proviſions. The Coſſacks quartered here on the lines, catch ſtags, elks and bears, in covered pits; they alſo kill them with fire-arms. They fix the gun upon a fork, cock it, and to the trigger faſten a ſtring, which is turned round a peg in the ground behind it, and put acroſs the ſpot where the animal muſt paſs; which if it does, it touches the ſtring, diſcharges the piece and ſhoots itſelf. There are, alſo, wild boars in the miry diſtricts of the high mountains; and abundance of good foxes, lynxes, and ſquirrels, and along the mountain-waters, otters, and beavers. The ſtone-rams (muſimon) dwell only on the higheſt and moſt inacceſſible rocks, never feeding in inhabited places. The chamois ſeems to be wanting here; but probably a few may be found on the mountains, as I received a horn of one from the Jeneſei: and on the copper pieces dug out of the tumuli, the figure of the chamois is very common.

It occaſionally happens, that for ſome bad trick, and through a love of independence, miners will run from the mines, and dwell a long time in the woody mountains, thriving and growing rich by hunting. Such runaways have been diſcovered, who have built huts in the wildeſt places, without the frontiers. In ſearch of ſuch coloniſts, detachments of troops are occaſionally [210] ſent far into the mountains, where they have found hermits, who, from fantaſtic zeal, have left their vil⯑lages, and ſettled in theſe inacceſſible parts.

It is plainly viſible that, on chalk mountains, all wild plants become much finer, and more perfect; which may be attributed to the nature of this ſpecies of rocks, which ſtrongly attracts the moiſture of the air, clouds and fogs, and abſorbs that attracted moiſt⯑neſs ſo, as not to let the plants have too much wet.

In this diſtrict I paſſed an old deſerted copper-mine, in which ſilver was found, that had been worked by Dimidoff; and a manufactory adjoining it, the dwell⯑ings of which were now only inhabited by huſband⯑men. In my road on, about 54 miles before we reach⯑ed the ſerpent-mountain, the banks of the river Alei are covered with wood, in which there are a great many white poplars; and in the banks of the brook Bere⯑ſoſka, which falls into the Alei, and which conſiſt of a kind of loam, and, underneath, layers of ſand, we found enormous teeth of elephants, and ſome remains of ſmaller animals. Some peaſants that rowed down this brook a fiſhing, firſt diſcovered this curioſity; ſeeing a large tooth of an elephant projecting from the ſandy banks, they drew it out. I have ſeen a grinder ſound here, which ſeems like the tooth of ſome large buffalo; but I cannot give it, by my re⯑membrance, [211] to any known animal, if it be not that of the rhinoceros.

Serpent-mountain. We reached the ſerpent-mountain on the 11th of Auguſt. It is ſo called from the innu⯑merable ſerpents that were every where crawling about it, till it was covered with mines. I was ſhewed ſome ſharp, outſtanding angles of rocks, in which I ſaw ſmooth excavations, as if poliſhed, which are ſaid to have been made by theſe ſerpents, who have now taken poſſeſſion of a neighbouring mountain. This moun⯑tain, by name Smejefskaja Gora, deſerves juſtly to be called the crown of all Siberian mines; and if it was to be ſearched into with proper care and exactneſs, would take up more time than a traveller would be able to beſtow upon it. I ſhall, however, mention circum⯑ſtantially all the accounts and information I could gather reſpecting it, and for which I am indebted to its, director, Mr. Leube.

Before the year 1732, it was known that this moun⯑tain was metallic; for its old trying pits had been diſcovered before that time. In 1745, Brigadier Beier ordered regular works to be undertaken. Its diſtance from the Irtiſch is 71 miles; and from the Oby, which flows eaſt, and north from it, 107 miles. It is encom⯑paſſed all round with ſteep and torn mountains, which form part of the Altai, and between which the brook Korbolicha flows into the Alei; part of theſe torn [212] mountains conſiſts of chalk and ſtate, and contains ſome good ores; yet far inferior in extent and rich⯑neſs to thoſe of the ſerpent-mountain.

The ſerpent-mountain is divided from all adjacent ones, by a valley which draws towards the Korbolicha, and riſes to the perpendicular height of 30 fathoms. The whole mountain may be conſidered as a great ſtock covered with ſlates, which conſiſt of rich gold, ſilver, copper, lead, zinc, arſenic, and ſulphur ores. This ſtock has two diviſions, entirely ſeparated with⯑out by a depreſſion, or dale, running from north to ſouth, and within the mountain, by ſlate-rocks, The level part of this ſtock conſiſts of chertz, which, with irregular ſinuſes and ſhelves, runs northward into the depth; but the hanging part of the mountain is a heavy and compact ſpar, over which the ſlate-mountain joins. About the chertz, the ores ſtick in ſtocks, neſts and branches, ſo that it is commonly encompaſſed with a matrix of a richer, and often, nobler alloy than the ores themelves, and a great deal of maſſive me⯑tals. The chertz in which the ores lie, is, in ſubſtance, moſtly like a ſolid fire-ſtone; its color, expoſed to the air, is yellowiſh; further inwards, light grey, or blu⯑iſh. In the neighbourhood of the ores, it is more like metal in large pieces, or neſts, and impregnated with a ſilvery black, or enriched with maſſive gold, or ſilver plates. This quartz, chertz, or hornſtein, is [213] therefore a principal part of the works, and contains a good deal of arſenic.

The ſpar-part is very compact and ſolid, of a grey or white color, and uncommonly heavy; great part of it is converted into metal, and mixed with ſeveral ores. The ſlate which lies on the ſpar is commonly, at the day, vari-coloured and ſoft; but in the depth, ſolid, thoroughly grey, or blackiſh. It often contains mar⯑caſites, and pebbles of a very aquatic nature; and care is to be taken not to advance very far into it. To this care they owe the depth of the mine, and its being worked with only a few hand-engines.

Betwixt the chertz and the ſpar, in the upper divi⯑ſions, lay ſome rich yellow ochre, to the depth of 10 fathoms, and in the lower, 38 fathoms in length, 10 in breadth, and 11 in depth; between which, and the chertz, lay ſome white argil, to the thickneſs of an ell. In general, the ores from the day to the depth of 20 or 30 fathoms, were the richeſt, and moſt ennobled with maſſive metals; but at a greater depth, the ores were poorer, and leſs ripe, and very ſeldom any traces of maſſive ſilver to be met with.

There are many ſhafts dug in this mine, that have been found very rich with ſilver; but the hornſtein, or chertz, dug here, is immenſely rich, containing beau⯑tiful ores in neſts and bunches, which are of conſider⯑able [214] alloy. In the year 1754, they made a great adit which was completed in 1758, and runs to a depth of 32 fathoms, 585 fathoms long, having five air-holes at a proper diſtance, and opens with its mouth near the brook in the valley. By means of this adit, which in⯑terſects the whole ſtructure of the mine, all the nu⯑merous works above it, from which the water was drawn in an expenſive manner with hand-engines, are now not only freed from water, and freſh water pro⯑cured in the whole mine, but alſo the internal quality of the ſerpent-mountain is ſtill more known, and a road made to the deepeſt works. This adit, or road, has gone through 315 fathoms of clay, through 150 fathoms, further on, of reddiſh ſlate, then 83 fathoms through chertz, 70 fathoms through ſpar and pebble-ore, five fathoms, of empty ſpar, and laſtly through 22 fathoms of a grey and black ſlate; in the whole, 645 fathoms, or 1505 yards.

The works are here carried on with that regularity, ſkill and order, as may ſerve as an example to all other mines. The deepeſt part of the works cannot be con⯑tinued in any other manner, than by blowing up the ores with gunpowder; and they uſe here annually from 5 to 600 puds of powder for the purpoſe; each pud, 36 pounds Engliſh.

The ores hitherto dug in theſe important works, contain an almoſt incredible variety of ſpecies. The [215] metals and ores dug throughout the mine, to this time, are as follow.

Maſſive gold, which lies moſtly in the upper part of the mountain, from the ſurface to a depth of 10 fa⯑thoms, where the ores are the richeſt. Its color is high and pure, and it is found in a matrix of chertz, brown ochre, and lazuli; more below, it is very pale, and impregnated with ſilver; ſo that often one and the ſame bunch has three, or more ſorts of color. It is found in irregular grains, and pieces of different, yet ſmall, ſize: ſometimes it is impregnated with particles of arſenic. In many ſilver-ores, it is ſo tenderly ſprinkled in, that it can hardly be diſcerned with a magnifying-glaſs; yet if it be true that no gold is found changed into ore, it muſt be ſcattered maſſively in all ores of this mine. Moſt of the maſſive gold is found here viſibly in the chertz, and the fine ſand-rock; alſo in brown ochre, and rich lazuli: bunches of both the latter have been found underneath the day ores, quite covered with veins of maſſive gold. Maſſive gold is alſo here found in veins, and pebble-ores.

Maſſive ſilver, which has commonly ſome gold in it, is found in pieces and threads of different ſizes, in kid⯑ney and clefts. It commonly occurs in chertz, ſpar, different ſpecies of ſpar-ores, pebble, and ſilvery copper⯑ores; alſo, in loam and argyl. The richeſt chertz-ores, contain a great deal of maſſive ſilver; and plates of [216] the ſame have alſo been found, in the upper works, upon loam and verdigreaſe. The hair-ſilver never occurs in very large threads. There are alſo black chertz-kidneys, with maſſive, ſilver plates in them.

Maſſive copper, is in metallic and ſmall pieces of irregular figure, only in the upper part of the moun⯑tain. In ſome places it lies in white and green loams; in others, in green, ſilver, and coppery ſpar-ores, and carries with it a degree of ſilver. It is alſo dug in tender plates, upon ſpar-ores, neſtwiſe.

Other ores, dug in this mine, as pebble, arſenic, lead, &c. all contain a degree of ſilver, and ſome have gold. In an aſſay made of 5490 puds of dug ore, there was found 55 puds of black copper, ſix puds, nine pounds, and better, of ſilver, and upwards of three pounds of gold. Some produce one pound of ſilver in 30 pounds of ore; ſome more, ſome leſs. In the lead-ore a number of beautiful, coloured cryſtals are found.

As a curioſity of the ſerpent-mountain, it deſerves to be mentioned, that a piece of a grinder of an elephant, alſo a piece of fungites, were found in one of the ſhafts, which plainly prove its origin from the ſea. I ſaw them both; and I doubt not but other ſuch re⯑mains might be found, if properly looked after.

[217]The tracts of the ancient workmen, noticed in theſe mines, are too remarkable not to be mentioned. The upper and lower diviſion of the ores of this mountain were not known to theſe ancient miners. They made deep, trying pits into the ſoft and rich ochre-ores and clays, ſituated near the ſurface, and made ſhafts upon them to the depth of five fathoms, and more; but to penetrate into the ſolid ores, they had neither means, nor tools. Many of their tools have been found in the modern works; ſeveral were caſt in copper, which leads me to think, that iron was un⯑known to them; and indeed the copper knives, dag⯑gers and arrows, found in the ancient tombs, in the ſtep of the Irtiſch, is an inconteſtable proof of it. A few years ſince, they found a half metallized ſkeleton of an ancient miner, who was probably ſqueezed to death by the falling in of a ſhaft; about him was a leather bag of the moſt precious ochre. Between the mouth of one of the ſhafts, and the ſtamping mills, that formerly ſtood on the adjoining brook, they found, at the diſtance of more than 100 fathoms, one of their waſhing-places, which ſtill contained ſo much gold, as to make it requiſite to paſs the rubbiſh through the modern lavatories, in order not to loſe ſuch a treaſure.

But notwithſtanding this, we can form a conjecture who the ancient nation, ſo ſkilled in mineralogy, may have been. The Ruſſians, in Siberia, call them [218] Tſchudaki, which implies, an old nation. They cannot have been Tartars, or Mongols, becauſe theſe nations have been acquainted, time out of mind, with the melting of iron, and yet are unacquainted with the melting of copper, or other precious metals; nay even of digging them. Probably this nation might have been driven from their ancient abodes, which they occupied along the Siberian mountains; or may have been deſtroyed by the wandering Mongols, and Tar⯑tars. This is probable, from the fine and delightful mountains about the Jeniſei, and from the many magnificent tumuli, in which gold and other valuable things have been diſcovered. All the tools found about the Jeneſei, ſhew alſo more art and ſplendor, than thoſe on the Irtiſch, which are clumſy and heavy. But no where do we meet with traces of ſtone-build⯑ings, or other habitations, which might be attributed to that people, who were probably Nomades, and whoſe way of life gave the beſt opportunity of diſcovering ores. What then was that nation, ſo ſkilled in mi⯑neralogy? Were they the Parthians, loſt in hiſtory, or were they the Germans? Their deſcendants, perhaps, may think the ſuppoſition too romantic.

In the old mine-works of the nation I have been ſpeaking of, ſome timber has been found, three or four fathoms deep in the ores, quite metallized, and converted into copper, with ſilver alloy; and ſome that contained little plates, and threads of maſſive copper [219] and gold. This ſerpent-mountain, of all the diſ⯑covered mines, has, for the laſt 26 years, produced the moſt important treaſures; and the imperial ſilver-manufactories on the Ob have been chiefly ſup⯑ported by it. As Mr. Gmelin has obſerved, it is the firſt of all Siberian mines, where the ores, to a prodigious depth, have kept conſtant. To give the reader a proper idea of the great production of this mine, I ſhall briefly tell him, that from the year 1749 to 1762, they ſent annually from two to four hund⯑red; and ſince 1763, from 5 to 600, nay, even 800 puds of gold and ſilver, each pud 36 pounds: and in all, ſince the beginning of the ſilver-works, above 10,000 puds of raw ſilver; which was converted into 318 puds of gold, and above 9000 puds of refined ſilver. The tranſport of the ores to the manufactories, is done by voluntary waggons, or peaſants, working to pay their poll-tax. The carriage from the ſerpent-moun⯑tain to the manufactories, is from five copecs to ſeven, per pud, according to the diſtance and badneſs of the roads.

On the top of this mountain is a fortreſs, to guard it, in form of a polygon, which encompaſſes the upper works, and extends itſelf moſtly over the ſouth and eaſt ſides of it; ſo that the great works, with ſome adjacent ſtore-houſes, forges, and other watering-places, lie without the ſortreſs, on the weſtern ſide. The fortreſs has two ſtone-baſtions, on the top of the [220] mountain, beſides an earth-wall; with two baſtions in the northern angles, and half a baſtion in the ſouthern. The principal buildings are, the houſe of the com⯑manding-officer; that of the chief director; the comp⯑toir, where a great train of artillery is kept; the new laboratory of aſſays, which contains a curious and beautiful collection of ores; a ſchool-houſe, and an hoſpital. Beſides theſe, there are ſtore-houſes, maga⯑zines, and five dwelling-houſes for the officers, ſeveral private houſes, and ſtables. The foundation of a beautiful, ſtone-built church, upon a modern plan, is laid; but till the building is completed, they make uſe of a timber one. The Smei forms a canal within the walls of the fortreſs; its water fills the ditches, and the fortreſs itſelf, and the ſuburbs, have ſeveral wells of fine, wholeſome water. The ſuburbs lie on the north and eaſt ſides of the fortreſs, quite down to the valley, and towards the adjacent heights, and are laid out in regular ſheets, one of which is three quarters of a mile long. The number of houſes amounted to 400; and the place is encreaſing daily.

The direction of the whole mine, is under the cele⯑brated Colonel Leube, who, before the year 1759, was the German preacher of this place. Under him is a captain-director of the works, a maſter of aſſays, ſeveral other officers, and clerks. The miners are, in number, 887; and above 300 more, employed in the lavatories. Several hundred peaſants are con⯑ſtantly [221] felling timber; and the garriſon conſiſts of 100 men, commanded by a captain.

As the ſpar, chertz, loam and other rubbiſh dug out with the ore, are of a metallic nature, but not of ſufficient value to pay the expence of tranſporting and melting; there is eſtabliſhed in the neighbourhood, five ſtamping-mills and five lavatories, for grinding and waſhing ſuch ores of ſmall alloy; and every thing is ſo contrived that the works are not ſuſpended even in win⯑ter. To prevent the canals, that work the mills, from freezing, they are covered with ſprays and hay, and the lavatories are heated by ovens.

The lavatories or waſhing-houſes, produce annual⯑ly a conſiderable quantity of gold-duſt, and, ſome⯑times, they find, in the rubbiſh, ſmall pieces of ſolid ſilver. Since 1760, they have produced 160 puds and ſix pounds of gold-duſt, which is ſent to the Imperial Treaſury of Mines, at Catherineburg, and ſince the new ſtamping-mill has been erected, it has produced, in one year, above thirty-ſeven puds extra.

Before I quit this mountain, I will mention two re⯑markable occurrences—The one is, that, in the courſe of this year, ſeveral ſhocks of an earth-quake were here felt; and, the other, that inoculation for the ſmall⯑pox introduced in children and adults, was ſo ſucceſs⯑fully performed here by a Ruſſian ſurgeon, in 1769, [222] whoſe name is Timofei Andréjef, that out of 469 perſons not a ſingle one died. The greateſt number was inoculated on the mountain itſelf, and the reſt in the neighbouring villages. So happy an experiment in Siberia, ſurely deſerves a reward!

I am indebted to Mr. Leube for the obſervations on the earthquake, felt here on the 18th of February of the preſent year 1771. The motion was like a fluctu⯑ation of the earth, and paſſed from North to South. On the 17th of February, the night before the earth⯑quake, the quickſilver of the barometer fell half an inch; during the whole night, a violent ſouth-wind blew, and at five in the morning fell ſome ſnow, to the depth of four inches, and continued on the 18th in the morning, during a great temperature of the air. Then the uſual winter-weather continued to the 22d, the ſky was cloudy and the ſouth and north wind blew by turns; but on the 22d came ſuch a laſting froſt, that the mercury, in de Liſie's thermometer, ſtood between 182 deg. to 196 deg. till the 3d of March. The ſhocks ſhook the works and workmen without doing any damage, and in the houſes at the ſilver-manufac⯑tory, at Barnaul, at the diſtance of 170 miles, all the inſtruments and furniture were waved ſeveral times backwards and forwards.

On the 17th of Auguſt, I left the ſerpent-mountain, in my way to the ſilver-manufactory, at Barnaul, diſ⯑tant [223] 170 miles, and thence to Tomſkoi, 378 miles further.

Travelling on, I paſſed ſome tumuli, on the 20th and 21ſt of Auguſt, conſiſting of a heap of ſtones co⯑vered with earth, in which were found ſhin-bones and back-bones of men of a gigantic ſize. I croſſed the Alei, near the village Kaſchina, about 70 miles from the ſerpent-mountain, which has a fine, ſtone-built church, a bailiff, and ſeveral villages dependent on it. I changed horſes here and ſent my waggons on, the ſtraighteſt road, wandering myſelf through all the environs.

I reached Barnaulſkoi on the 22d. one day after Profeſſor Falk, who arrived ſo much indiſpoſed as to take to his bed. Meaning to ſtop here but a few days, I was deſirous of ſeeing the works as ſoon as poſſible, and Major-General Yhrmann, commander-in-chief of the garriſons, quartered on the mountains, gave me every aſſiſtance in his power; I therefore ſat up the whole night, writing and drawing what I have here communicated.

Rich and important as the ſerpent-mountain is in ores, is this place in it's works. Here the chief melting and refining of the gold and ſilver-ores, brought from that mountain, is performed. Here alſo are the head-quarters of the regiments and the chief mine-office [224] of the whole diſtrict. It's firſt eſtabliſhment was when Dimidof poſſeſſed all the mines of the Altai. The works were increaſed in 1763, and the two manufac⯑tories of Nowo-pawlofſkoi and Suſunſkoi were eſta⯑bliſhed in the ſame year. Barnaul, at firſt, had only ſix blaſts and three refining hearths. The ores are conveyed on the rivers Alei and Tſcharyſch, to ſave the great expence of land-carriage.

The manufactory of Barnaulſkoi, is built on a brook of the ſame name, near the mouth of the river Ob. The head of water, pent up for the mills, is 232 fathoms long and thirteen broad, and the reſervoir has ſo much water as to ſupply the works throughout the year, with⯑out the leaſt ſuſpenſion. All the huts or covered places for materials, are ſituated according to the beſt order and diſpoſition. They are built of wood, and encompaſſed with a wall. The principal ſtreet conſiſts of a beautiful town-houſe, a mine-office, a ſchool and the barracks. The places worked by water, are two ſmelting-houſes, one with thirty blaſts; a ſtamping-mill, a forging and refining hearth, a ſaw-mill, a corn-mill, a groat-mill, a poliſhing mill, and two other ſtamping mills. The other offices are, an aſſay-houſe, with ſix blaſts, a 'compting-houſe, a ſmall forge, a lock⯑ſmith's work-ſhop, and a bellows-factory. A treaſury is going to be built, and a place to keep the archives of the manufactory. Near the dwelling-houſes for the workmen, are magazines for proviſions, corn, hay, &c. [225] On the other ſide of the dam head, is a fine new-built manſion for the commander-in-chief; and cloſe by, ſeveral, fine houſes, belonging to the military officers. Here is alſo a court of ſworn citizens, a market, an hoſpital, a ſtone-built, public apothecary's ſhop, a bo⯑tanic garden, ſtore-houſes, powder and artillery ma⯑gazines, and the caſerns of the garriſon. The num⯑ber of other dwelling-houſes amounts to 1000. The place has alſo two wooden churches; but they have begun a fine, ſtone-built church, on a magnificent plan, which will be one of the greateſt ornaments of the country.

The ſupreme mine-office being here eſtabliſhed, there is a council, held by authority of the Empreſs, which not only commands all the mines of Altai, and the ſilver-manufactories on the Ob, but all the officers and workmen, and above 40,000 peaſants, from the diſtricts of Tomſkoi and Kuſnezkaja, who are obliged to work here for their poll-tax. Theſe peaſants are very li⯑berally paid; and as their homes are ſometimes at a very conſiderable diſtance, they receive a competent allowance for coming and returning, all regulated by the wiſe adminiſtration of General Yhrmann. The hoſ⯑pital is eſtabliſhed on very philanthropic principles; it has a chief ſurgeon, and ſix under ſurgeons: and, on account of the German works there carried on, they have a Proteſtant preacher. The garriſon here quartered, as a guard to the place, conſiſts of a com⯑pany [226] of dragoons, and three companies of foot-ſoldiers, commanded by a major, who are paid, as if in camp. The number of maſters, and workmen, amounts to 400; and their children are not only inſtructed in reading and writing, but in merchants-accompts and geometry.

They uſe here annually from 28 to 30,000 baſkets of charcoal; and to make 80 of ſuch baſkets, it takes 20 cubic fathoms of wood; but the price of ſuch a baſket is not more than 25, or 26 copecs; about 13 pence Engliſh: and they ſell, annually, from 13 to 15,000 puds of lead. In the laſt eight months, they had already paſt through 15 furnaces, for the melting of raw ores, 2,21,000 puds of ore.

Beſides theſe works in Barnaul, there are others in the neighbourhood, cloſe by; ſuch as nine lime-kilns, a bell-foundery; a brick-kiln, 800 fathoms long; and alſo eight other kilns, joined together, in which they burn, with one fire, which does not laſt above three or four days, from 45 to 50,000 tiles; alſo, a glaſs-manufactory. At a little diſtance from Bernaul, is a country-houſe, belonging to the general, called Charlotte-dale, ſuperbly furniſhed, with a park, and extenſive gardens, in which are many beautiful caſ⯑cades, fountains, and ſtatues. Adjoining Bernaul, is a brew-houſe, belonging to the crown. The ſale of ſtrong beer is prohibited here, but on certain days of feſti⯑vity; [227] or the workmen would drink too freely, and neglect their duty. Notwithſtanding the northern ſitu⯑ation of this town, it enjoys a milder air, and warmer ſummers, than the more ſouthern diſtricts. A proof of which is, that all garden-ſtuff, except colliflowers, thrive here amazingly. The ſandy and elevated diſtrict, and the ſhelter of a dry foreſt, contributes much towards it. The only defect in the ſituation is, that the water every where has a bitteriſh taſte.

I leſt Barnaulſkoi on the 26th of Auguſt, and di⯑rected my road to the ſilver-manufactory at Nowo-Pawlofſki, where I arrived the next day; ſaw, as I paſſed, a lake, whoſe appearance, at a diſtance, was blood red; and met with, in the foreſt, a peculiar ſpecies of mice, (Mus Barabenſis), various remarkable agarics, among which there was Lycopendon ſtellatum, and a particular ſpecies of Hydnum.

Nowo-Pawlofſki is one of the manufactories lately eſtabliſhed, as an auxiliary to Barnaul, and promiſes to be a populous place. It has a conveniency of water, and every work and mill proper for the buſineſs; to enumerate them would be needleſs. Nothing is here performed, but ſmelting of raw ores. In the ſtructure of their furnaces, they keep off the vapours of ar⯑ſenic, which would be hurtful to the workmen; but, from the roaſting of ores in the fields, the air is ſo poiſoned by the ſmoke, that a great number of chicken, [228] and other poultry, are killed by convulſive diſ⯑orders.

On the 28th I ſet off for Tomſkoi, and took Su⯑ſunſkoi in my way, which lies lower down the river Ob, at the diſtance of 54 miles, and where is a Si⯑berian mint. The Ob is larger than the Irtiſch, and equal to the Wolga, in its greateſt breadth. The villages, and moſt of the towns, in theſe diſtricts, are happily ſituated along the river, and enriched by agri⯑culture, hunting and fiſhing; for they ſell their corn at a good price, to the ſilver-works, and the fortreſſes, along the Irtiſch. The ſoil here is uncommonly fer⯑tile, though the black earth is not above ſix or ſeven inches deep, yet there is beneath it a marly loam, that makes the corn thrive exceedingly. The peaſants along the Ob, were, till late, very rich in cattle, eſpecially in ſtout, laborious horſes; but, within a few years back, the plague has raged among the horſes, and large cattle, and they have ſuſtained great loſſes. They have a cuſtom here, to turn great troops, or herds of horſes, looſe into the foreſt, without any one to look after them. In the Barabynian ſtep, ſituate between the Ob and the Irtiſch, there are alſo wild horſes, called Ditſchje, which run in herds; and the ſtallions, that keep forward, looking out as ſpies to ex⯑plore the enemy, are commonly ſhot. They are moſtly of a brown, fallow, and dun colour. The peaſants get alſo a great deal of money by catching ſquirrels, which [229] are very abundant in the woods of this diſtrict; they are large, handſome, and white, and their furs are purchaſed by the Chineſe, at a price equal to ermine. The diſtance from the Ob to the Irtiſch, is between 4 and 500 miles.

I reached Suſunſkoi on the 29th of Auguſt. This manufactory was eſtabliſhed in March 1764, for ſmelt⯑ing raw ores; but, in 1767, they added to it a mint. It lies on the river Suſun; but they have erected a mill-dam, which is 110 fathoms long, and 12 broad. Here, with the copper of gold and ſilver alloy received from the ſilver-manufactories, they coin a money, cur⯑rent in Siberia; for, as in the beginning of the ſilver-works here they had collected above 30,000 puds of copper, wherein were about three puds and an half of ſilver, and about three puds of gold, which to ſeparate would have coſt more than it was worth; her Im⯑perial Majeſty iſſued an edict, in 1763, that, in future, all ſuch ſilvery copper ſhould be coined into a cur⯑rency, with the Siberian arms on it, according to its intrinſic value, in the following pieces: viz. griws, or ten copec pieces; five ditto; two ditto, or groſchewiki; copecs, half copecs or denuſchki; and quarter-copecs, or poluſchki: of which one part ſhould ſerve to pay the Siberian regiments; and the reſt the workmen, and other expences of the mines, and manufactories. The ſum annually to be coined, was fixed at 250,000 rubles.

[230]The court of the mint is encompaſſed with a high Oſtrog^*, and has but one entrance, which is guarded. Within it are, beſides the pay-office, guard-room and coal-houſe, a forge, with a large hammer and two fur⯑naces, where the great tools are forged; a ſmith's work-ſhop, where the ſtamps and punches are made; a ſmelting-houſe, with a lathe, worked by water, to turn cylinders, and the extenſive building of the mint, conſiſting of ſeveral diviſions. In the mint, are four diviſions, one has three flatting hammers, with two glow furnaces, two of which beat the copper into plates. In the ſecond, are three flatting machines, to give the plates their proper thickneſs. The third diviſion con⯑tains eight machines to cut the plates into round pieces, and the fourth, ſix ſtamping machines: the whole worked by water.

The ſtamp of the coin is uniform, having, on one ſide, the Empreſs's name (E. II.) ſurrounded with laurels and palms, and, on the reverſe, a crowned car⯑touch, borne by two ſables, the ſupporters of the Si⯑berian arms; and, in the field of the cartouch, is ex⯑preſſed the value of the coin and the year, with the words Sibirſkaja Moneta, round it, in the characters of [231] that country. In this mint was ſtruck, in the years 1760 and 1767, 278, 954 rubles; in 1768, 170, 070; and, in 1770, 250, 087 rubles, and ſome copecs: in all 899, 913 rubles, each ruble 4s. 6d. Engliſh. Here are a fine church, ſeveral, good, public offices, and about 200 houſes; ſome beautiful meadows; and the place is truly delightful.

Among all the Imperial manufactories, ſituated on the Ob, this is the richeſt in wood, and will never want any. Though a ſmall part of the foreſt conſiſts of poplars and birches, eſpecially near the Ob, yet further on, are very fine timber-trees; and the foreſt extends to above 48 miles in length, and as many in breadth, without taking into the account other large foreſts lower down the Ob, which are well adapted for new manufactories.

I left Suſunſkoi on the 30th of Auguſt, for Tom⯑ſkoi. The country between the two places, is moſtly covered with birch-wood, has a fine ſoil, but not the hundredth part ſo well inhabited as it deſerves. The field-mice had done a great deal of harm to the pre⯑ſent harveſt, and were every where in ſcores to be ſeen. No ſpecies of field-mice was more common than the yellow one, with a black ſtripe down its back, and ſome ſmall ones, quite yellow. Siberia produces two ſpecies of field-mice of its own, ſimilar to the com⯑mon, ſhort-tailed ground-mouſe; the one much larger; [232] with its ears quite concealed, and the other of a fox-colour.

Having got down from my waggon, on the 3d of September, to gather ſome ſeeds, and endeavouring to get up again, I fell, and diſlocated my arm. It ſwelled ſo much, and gave me ſo much pain, that I could not raiſe it, and was obliged to wear it in a ſling till winter.

When I reached the river Tom, which was on the 6th of September, I found, among the pebbles, ſome beautiful, cornelian ſtones; and, in Kaltai, a village 18 miles from Tomſkoi, I was ſhewn, many very valuable ores, found in the ſame river. In this place, its neighbourhood, and in and about Tomſkoi, are ſet⯑tled, from ſix to, 700 families of Mahomedan Tartars. They call themſelves Tſchaty; and are, in their dreſs and manners, as alſo in their religion, little different from thoſe of Caſan. Their women, contrary to the cuſtom of other Tartars, wear, over their veil, or taſtar, a calotte, which has no opening in the top of the head, but covers it intirely. Their girls wear the ſame, braiding their hair into three, or more treſſes, and into 30 treſſes on the day of their marriage. They are fond of being buried on the borders of ſome foreſt, or wood, and erect, over their graves, ſuch du⯑rable ſheds of timber, that a burial-place, at a diſtance, has the appearance of a village. In their houſes, [233] eſpecially in their ſummer rooms, they have chimnies, like the Baſkirs. They are good huſbandmen, and pay their poll, or head-tax, with great chearfulneſs. Inſtead of tea, they drink an infuſion of the roots of the tormentil (Tormentilla erecta), which, when boiled, dyes the water reddiſh, gives it a very aſtringent taſte, and is drank without milk. The chopped roots, or ſtalks of wild roſes, uſed, inſtead of tea, by the Tartars of Caſan, have a far ſweeter taſte. I ſaw, alſo, the following ſpecies of cinque-foil, uſed by the Si⯑berian Tartars inſtead of tea: Potentilla fruticoſa, known, in the remote parts of Siberia, by the name of Kurilſkoi Tſchai, and Potentilla rupeſtris, which they call Polewoi, or meadow-tea, boiling the whole plant, with the flower, as ſome do the ſage (Phlomis tuberoſa).

On the 8th we croſſed the river Tom, in a ferry; and the banks ſtriking my attention, I directed the watermen to row me to a particular ſpot, which I exa⯑mined, and found the ſoil to conſiſt of a blue, pirytuous, clay, uncommonly rich in vitriol. Some of the in⯑habitants of Tomſkoi gather this vitriolic ſubſtance in dry weather, boil from it an impure, yellow vitriol, and ſell it from 60 to 80 copecs a pud, inſtead, of the genuine, Siberian ſtone-butter. Even their yellow clay is of a vitriolic nature; and in it is found kidneys of a ſlated ſtone-ochre, which burns red, and is uſed by cotton and callico-printers as a dye. In the ſame yel⯑low-clay, lay layers, or neſts of an impure, or bluiſh, [234] but ſome very fine, ſnow-white, porcelain earth, which the inhabitants fetch in quantities, to paint their ovens, rooms, &c. with, and in theſe banks I found, in ſome vitriolic ſlate-layers, notwithſtanding their perpen⯑dicular folia and ſtrata, impreſſions of little marine bodies.

Tomſkoi lies on the right border of the river Tom, about 30 miles from its mouth, into the river Ob, on a very uneven ſoil, and ſpreads itſelf in length of the river, from ſouth to north. In the centre of the town is a high hill, on which is a fortreſs, erected 130 years ſince, with four towers, two gates, and a bell-ſteeple. Within theſe is the wood-built cathedral, the town-houſe, the houſe of archives, and the treaſury, built of ſtone; a ſtore-houſe, where the furs, brought as tribute, are kept; a decayed guard-houſe, and an ale-houſe, where the Tartars, bringing their tribute, are regaled with beer. Here are alſo ſeveral private houſes, the houſe of the waywods, and a public priſon. In the north-eaſt part of the town, is the church of the Reſurrection of Chriſt; and, without the town, ſeveral ſalt-magazines. The moſt important part of the town lay beyond the mountain, along the Tom; but the greateſt part thereof, with three churches, was unfortunately deſtroyed, laſt year, by fire. The inha⯑bitants have been ſince compelled to erect their new buildings, agreeable to a certain plan, and uniformly correſponding with the whole; but, before the fire, the [235] houſes ſtood ſo irregular, that the windings of the ſtreets reſembled a labyrinth. The mud almoſt ſwal⯑lowed up the wheels of our waggons, for the ſtreets will not be paved, till the new buildings are finiſhed. In the burnt part of the town was the mart, wherein the goods and property of many a citizen were devoured by the flames. In the ſouthern part of the lower town is a friary, and a nunnery, with their churches; and the ſame part of the town has a church, called the Annunciation, and another, dedicated to the Virgin-Mary. Here is alſo another town-houſe, a priſon, a comptoir of the mine-office, and a cuſtom-houſe, for the ſale of brandies, brought here from the diſtilleries on the Tobol and Iſet. The barges and veſſels are moored below the town, on account of the ſhallows near it; and, without the town, the Koſkolnicks, or Old-Faithful, of which there is a great number among the inhabitants, have their burial-places; and ſo have the Tartars.

Here reſides the commander of the batallion in gar⯑riſon; and to him the commanders of two other forts are ſubordinate. The court of waywodes is ſubordi⯑nate to that of Tobolſkoi, and commands the moſt populous diſtrict of all Siberia, except that of To⯑bolſkoi. The inhabitants of Tomſkoi live moſtly by trade. Here are no other manufactories, than ſuch as dye Ruſſian hides; and ſome few callico-printers. No where have I ſeen gluttony ſo prevalent, as in this [236] place; which, added to other reigning evils, forni⯑cation, and its attendant, the venereal diſeaſe, muſt be a dreadful bar to population: eſpecially, as for want of regular ſurgeons, the latter ſpreads itſelf exceſſively. Was it not for this, the place is happily ſituated for commerce, which is carried on here with all parts of Siberia, by the communication of two navigable rivers. Bread is cheap, meat not wanting; and the Ob and Tom abound with fiſh, and ſupply other towns with it. It is only to be wiſhed, that many ſober and induſtrious families might truly enjoy theſe bleſſings!

Within theſe three years, the Chineſe trade has been ſettled on a proper footing; and the merchants have brought here, in the bales, a little, yellow houſe-moth (Blatta Aſiatica), which has increaſed incredibly. In all the woods between the Ob and Tom, they have had an incredible number of ſquirrels. It has already been ſhewn, that they emigrate, in ſummer, from the ſouth-eaſt mountains, into the diſtrict of Tomſkoi. Every ruined building of the town, and the towns of the fortreſs, were now infeſted with them; and they were caught alive by boys, who ſold them very cheap.

On the 11th of September, in the afternoon, I con⯑tinued my journey, and travelled 18 miles in the even⯑ing. This country is pretty well colonized with Tar⯑tars, and troubleſomely infeſted with black crows, [237] which are ſo rapacious, that they will, in winter, attack a yard of poultry, in flocks of twenty at a time, and tear the fowls in pieces. I met here with a ſpecies of hedge-ſparrow, or little nightingale, with a fine yellow breaſt, and a green tail (Motacilla Cyanurus); alſo, a wonderfully ſmall ſpecies of ſhrew-mouſe, that did not weigh, when full grown, more than half a dram. They are ſomewhat browner than the common ſhrew-mice, and have, in proportion to their body, a very thick, full, round tail. They are, therefore, quite different from the Sorex minutus of Linnaeus, which is alſo a Siberian animal, and are the ſmalleſt of all quadru⯑peds ever recorded, in human knowledge. This little animal ſhall be fuller deſcribed hereafter. It is fond of the water, like the black water-ſhrew, and the common ſhrew-mouſe; both of which are very common here.

The paſſage over the river Ki is by a ferry. The river is ſtony; and, among the pebbles, there are pieces of high-red, black, and alſo black and yellow ſpotted jaſper. Colonizing this diſtrict, will make the farmers comfortable, and enable them to ſell their corn at a good price; which, at preſent, they are often compelled, by indigence, to part with, for little, or nothing. They have not, lately, been able to get more than three or four copecs, or one penny Engliſh, for 36lb. weight; and here are public granaries, where, when bought at this price, it is ſtored up, near a navi⯑gable [238] river, to be conveyed to places where no corn is grown. At the time when the poll-tax is to be paid, a good horſe may be bought for two or three rubles; becauſe the indigent farmer can find no buyers. They have here a method of catching woodcocks, which fre⯑quent the birch-wood; ſimple, yet effectual. Laying a large plank acroſs two branches of a birch-tree, they tie ears of corn at both ends, and at the diſtance of a few inches from each end, is faſtened a circular ſpringe, with a horſe-hair ſnare, tied on the plank. The wood-cocks ſit on this plank, but cannot reach the ears of corn, unleſs they put their heads through the ſpringe into the ſnare, and, if they try to come back, they draw the ſnare with them, and, attempting to fly, are entangled by the head. The peaſants call this ſnare, Nawori.

I have already mentioned the Chineſe moth (Blatta Aſiatica), which the Tartars call Tarakan. Here, in Atſchinokoe (about 230 miles from Tomſkoi), where I was on the 19th of September, a village ſituated on the navigable river Tſchulym, the peaſants houſes are ſo full of them, that, in the day-time, every dark corner, chink and cloſet, ſwarms; and, at night, they cover all the walls; nothing is free from theſe vermin, for they will enter the ſmalleſt clefts. No veſſel, or box, be it ever ſo cloſely ſhut, can remain in theſe rooms, without being filled, the next morning, with thouſands of big and little Tarakans. They even [239] thirſt after human blood; and, in one's ſleep, all the uncovered parts of the body are bleeding with this inſect: they will not touch any proviſions, but bread, ſugar, and meat. There is no eating or drinking, in theſe rooms, without having one inſect dropping, after another, from the cieling, into the diſhes, cups and plates. Various means have been tried to deſtroy them, without effect. Shutting up a room, and ſmok⯑ing it with brimſtone, and offenſive herbs, have been tried, but to no purpoſe. The only way to get rid of them, is to let the rooms freeze, in the beginning of winter, without fire. This will apparently deſtroy them; but, by conſtant warmth, they will ſoon appear again; and, in ſpring, everything crawls with them, as before.

About 112 miles further on, where I was on the 24th of September, I met with ſome Chriſtian Tartars, ſet⯑tled on the brook Sulgun, who, in ſummer-time, live in wretched jurts, or huts, formed with high birch-poles, ſet up in form of cones, flatted at top, and covered with ſtrongly boiled, birch-bark, ſewed together; and, in winter time, in hovels, made with birch-poles, laid acroſs each other, in form of a box. The fore-part of this box is left open, and repreſents a hall, or anti⯑chamber; the other half is ſhut up by a partition, in which is a ſmall door, and on the outſide covered thickly with turf, to keep it warm. In the middle of this inner room, they make a Baſkirian chimney, of [240] ſprays and loam, with wooden air-pipes; and, on the roof, is left a little, ſquare hole, to let in the light, which they ſhut at night, and in very cold weather.

Theſe Tartars have preſerved moſt of their ancient ways of living and thinking; for, independent of the crucifix, which they wear tied round their necks, and ſuſpend alſo in their jurts, or tents; they know but little of the Chriſtian religion; and as little of the Ruſſian manners, except an imitation of the female dreſs, and ſome few neceſſary parts of agriculture. Their girls go about dreſſed in the Tartarian faſhion; and men wear furs and whiſkers. They are, in ge⯑neral, poor, and have but little cattle; owing, as is ſaid, to the deep ſnows, which fall in winter, and will not allow the cattle to look out for food; and to the great number of beaſts of prey, in this di⯑ſtrict.

Mr. Gmelin gives us a further account of this people, whom he calls, the Tſchoulym Tartars. He ſays, ‘In ſummer-time, the men are dreſſed like Ruſſian pea⯑ſants; and, in winter, they wear long peliſes, made of deer-ſkins. The women wear trowſers, and boots, made of the large ſkins of eel-powts. The other parts of their dreſs are like thoſe of the Ruſſian peaſants, except that they border their garments with [241] fur. The girls plait their hair in treſſes; and all the female ſex wear veils.’

‘Their table is dirty, and badly accommodated. Fiſh is their common food; bread is ſcarce with them; as a ſubſtitute for which, they eat dried fiſh, reduced to powder, which looks like a meal. Their greateſt delicacy, is parched grain, freſh ſtalks of bear's foot, and the Acanthus, which they bruiſe all together, and put under ground, till it is ſour. In winter they ſeldom eat any thing, but dried, or ſmoked fiſh. The poor, who have neither milk nor flour, live on various wild fruits and plants, which they ſtore up againſt winter; indeed moſt Tartars do the ſame; ſuch as the roots of piony, pimpernel, (Sanguiſorba), fumitory, (Fumaria bulboſa), a ſort of thiſtle, (Carduus ſerratuloides), and ſerpentaria, (Polygon biſtorta), a root they call Mikir, (Polygon viviparum), the root of ſagittary, (Sagittaria ſagit⯑tifol.), and the root of Nymphea. The membrane under the bark of the pine-tree they give to children, as a ſweetmeat; and they chew the root of Calamus acorus, as the Indians do the betel-root. All ſmoke tobacco, and drink, beſides fiſh-broth, the liquors uſed by the Ruſſians, an infuſion of rye-meal, ſoured by fermentation, called Quas, which is a pleaſant liquor; Braga, a ſmall beer; ſtrong beer, and Ruſs brandy.’

[242] ‘The Tſchoulyms wore formerly Pagans, of the ſect of the Schamans. In the year 1720, a great number of them were converted to Chriſtianity, by the zeal of Archbiſhop Philotheus; but they are now merely nominal Chriſtians, and adhere chiefly to idolatry, in private. They place, however, an unlimited credulity in the efficacy of the crucifix, but retain the Pagan ceremonies of their anceſtors, as much as poſſible. They abhor pork, and eat horſe-fleſh, even that of diſeaſed animals; and often ſacrifice to their idols, in ſecret.’

‘When a woman is near her time of lying-in, ſhe calls in the aſſiſtance of her female neighbours; but they have ſo little knowledge of midwifry, that numbers of infants are deſtroyed in the birth, and many others have navel-ruptures. The prieſt names the child, though the parents give it a freſh name afterwards. The national names of the boys, are, Ouliguéyak, Kouguitſschak, Miſchagh, Koulon, &c. that of the girls, Keguenek, Patan, Paremha, &c.— [244] Children go by theſe names, and not by thoſe given at their baptiſm.’

‘Their regular manner of life, frugal, hard, and exempt from cares, keeps them in health; but, when they fall ſick, or wound themſelves, their ſovereign remedy, both internally and externally, is the gall of a bear, and ſome ſuperſtitious appli⯑cations. The ſmall-pox occaſionally makes great ravage among them. They have an extreme dread of death; and, from a perſuaſion that the ſoul of a deceaſed perſon returns to ſeek its ſurviving rela⯑tions, and purſues them in union with the body, on coming from a funeral, they jump ſeveral times over a fire, conceiving, by this precaution, they can prevent the deceaſed perſon from following them.’

‘The language of theſe Tartars is a mixture of the Tartarian and Mongol; but has ſo many words pe⯑culiar to itſelf, that it might be taken for a different language. They are neither cunning, nor ſtupid; but tractable, attentive, eager for inſtruction, and well-ſkilled in what they learn. When they have nothing to dread, they are frank, honeſt, and com⯑plaiſant; but when they have any thing to fear, or apprehend, they are ſullen, and deceitſul. They are friendly, and attentive to one another; but lazy [245] in all kinds of buſineſs, and ſlovenly and filthy in their way of living.’

‘They keep neither pigs nor poultry. Fiſhing and hunting is their chief employ; and the latter enables them to pay their tribute. Every man, capable of going a hunting, is obliged to pay the ſtate three marten-ſkins annually; or, in lieu of them, three elk-ſkins, three fox-ſkins, and 24 ermine-ſkins; or any other furs, equal in value to three marten-ſkins. The women are buſied in ſpinning, weav⯑ing, and ſewing; and, as this takes up all their time, they ſeldom ſtir out of their huts, and look as if they were ſmoke-dried.’

In our way, we ſaw ſeveral ſcattered tumuli; which are ſeldom, if ever, to be met with, but in the neigh⯑bourhood of ſome lake, or river; or on the fineſt, and moſt elevated ſpots of a field, the bottoms of mountains, and in flat vallies. Several I ſaw, that reminded me of the old giant's graves, or beds of he⯑roes, found in the ſame form, in ſome parts of Ger⯑many; particularly in Mark-Brandenburg. Theſe conſiſted of little hills of earth, round which were ſtuck, in the ground, ſome large, flat pieces of rock, and ſome had three little, ſtone poſts, ſet near each other.

[246]The Tartars who now inhabit theſe diſtricts, acknowledge the nation from whom they derive their origin, as their anceſtors. It is an old ſtory among them, that formerly there were two brothers (perhaps only nationally ſo), one of whom, with his people, dug a great deal of gold and ſilver, out of the mountains; and the other was rich in cattle, and people: that the latter had often ſo deprived the former of his trea⯑ſures, and moleſted him, that he ſought refuge among the princes of China, who allotted him, and his peo⯑ple, a tract of country, towards the eaſt; and from theſe laſt they ſprang. In the graves, which, differing in external appearance, are probably of one and the ſame nation, no other than copper tools and arms are found, and ſome few gold and ſilver ornaments; generally, no other gold than what is beaten out into thin leaves.

During my ſtay at Kraſnojarſkaja, among the old copper, dug out of ſuch graves, and offered me by the peaſants, I found copper points of lances, a kind of light battle-axe, daggers elegantly wrought, blades of knives, whetſtones, points of copper and bone-arrows, copper ſcythes, ſimilar to thoſe now uſed in Siberia, ſeveral flat, caſt figures of elks and rein-deer, ſtags, chamois, and wild ſheep. In theſe graves are ſometimes alſo found wooden frames, in which the dead bodies have been laid, with the figure of a chamois, faſtened on the fore poſt of ſuch a frame, and alſo ſome [247] little white ſtones, in form of ſnails, called, in Latin Cyprea nodoſa. I ſhall, perhaps, give a further ac⯑count of the nature of theſe tumuli.

In this neighbourhood, I paſſed a farm, belonging to a Tartar of Tomſkoi; and alſo a country-reſidence belonging to the ſame perſon, elegantly built of larches, with a terrace on the top. Near this houſe, are ſeveral houſes, built in the Ruſſian manner, be⯑longing to ſome of his relations. Here will alſo be built a church for the converted Tartars, hitherto be⯑longing to the diſtrict of Schereſch, which this patriotic Tartar is taking all imaginable pains to reduce from their wild, ſavage ſtate, to agriculture, and more ſo⯑cial life.

In ferrying my waggons, in the morning early, over the river Tſchoulym, on the 27th of September, the boat which carried my baggage, was unfortunately overſet in the middle; but as the water was not more than ſeven feet deep, it was, with ſome difficulty, drawn out again; all its contents, however, were ſo wet, that I was obliged to ſtop, till noon, to dry them. The next day I halted, among another tribe of Tartars, called Katchinzi, whoſe jurts, or huts, were erected at the bottom of the high mountain Tarbig, where the white river Ujus ſtreams, and ſpreads itſelf along a fine, ſandy vale, in which are ſeveral bitter lakes, and ſalt-ſpots, which Mr. Gmelin viſited, and from which [248] the diſtrict of Kraſnojarſkaja is ſupplied with ſalt. Having ſpent the night here on the 28th, I had an opportunity of obſerving and enquiring into the way of living of theſe wealthy Tartars; with whom moſt others, living on the upper Jeniſei, agree, in many points, and ſeem to have a common origin.

Theſe Tartars, who diſtinguiſh themſelves from the reſt, by the name of Katchinzi, do not conſiſt of more than one hundred men, who keep poſſeſſion of the fine paſture-grounds between the Yjus and Abakan, on the weſtern ſide of the Jeniſei. To judge of them by their language, they are true Tartars; but they are baſtards in their features, dreſs and manners, of which they have adopted many of the Mongalian; becauſe, probably, they were under the yoke of the Kalmucks, and had thus a communication, as neigh⯑bours, with the Mongols: otherwiſe, they have many Mongalian words in their language, which a Tartar of Caſan does not underſtand, and to whom their ex⯑preſſion and pronunciation appear ſtrange. The men ſhave their heads, like the Kalmucks; and leave only a half-circular whiſker on the upper lip turned up, and a tuſt on the under lip, or chin. Moſt of them, eſpecially the younger ones, make a tail of their black hair, on the hinder part of their heads; yet they do not ſhave, or cut off the reſt, but let it hang, about five or ſix inches long, about the head.

[249]In winter, they uſually wear no ſhirt; but a long ſkin, furred within, on their bare bodies, with narrow ſleeves. Moſt of theſe furs are deer-ſkins, which the women tan with the liver and brains of the ſame ani⯑mal, for 24 hours, then make them ſoft over their knees, by rubbing them with a piece of wood, parti⯑cularly adapted for this purpoſe. The richer, and more noble among them, wear ſheep or lambs furs; and, at feaſts, and public ſolemnities, upper garments of cloth, and ſilken under-ones. But the common people, beſides their furs, and boots, wear nothing but a pair of white, coarſe, linen drawers, or trowſers, which are made by their wives, from the hemp⯑nettle, growing in their vallies, and which they call Kender.

The dreſs of the women differs little from the com⯑mon dreſs of the Kalmucks, and conſiſts in two treſſes of hair, hanging down their ſhoulders, and a round cap with a broad, fur border, a knot of fringes on the top, and two pieces of ſilk hanging down from be⯑hind. Girls, till the day of their nuptials, wear a little round cap, flatted behind, without any fur border, but with a red fringe, taſſel, on the top. They braid their hair into nine treſſes; three of which hang down the neck behind, and three on each ſide the head. The womens garments are elegantly cut out, eſpecially their furs. Some married women wear a breaſt-plate, or a collar, ſet with beads. Children run moſtly naked [250] about the jurts, or yourts. I call them ſometimes yourts, becauſe, as I have obſerved before, the jod, J, in Tartary, is ſounded like our Y.

The jurts, or tents, in which they live in win⯑ter, are ſpacious, covered with felts, and ſimilar to thoſe of the Kalmucks, and Kirgeſe. All live (the rich not excepted) in a manner uncommonly filthy and brutiſh, never waſhing any veſſels; but, as ſoon as they are emptied, put them away, and, when they want them again, uſe them in the ſame ſtate. Thoſe who call themſelves troubleſomely clean, will only rub them a little with their dirty hands. Their houſhold-furniture conſiſts of iron kettles, wooden cups, and birch-bark troughs. They make milk-brandy, as do the Kalmucks; and, during ſummer and autumn, whilſt their brandy laſts, are ſeldom ſober. They are all fond of ſmoking tobacco, women as well as men; and they will ſmoke 20 times out of the ſame Chineſe pipe. Their greateſt dainty, and moſt common food, next to meat, is barley, or rye-groats, baked brown in a pan with flour, over which melted butter is poured. This diſh they call Kaſch, and eat of it at any time of the day, when they are hungry. Beſides this, they boil, and eat the ſtalks of cow-parſnep (Sphondylium), and all ſorts of wild roots, as piony-roots, reed-mace, red lily roots (Lilium pomponium), and the dog's-tooth, (Erythronium), which they call Beſs.

[251]Of all the Tartarian tribes I have yet ſeen, this is the naſtieſt, the moſt inhoſpitable, and the moſt treach⯑erous. They do not ſpare even one another; are very ill-behaved when drunk, and often attack the Coſſacks, ſent, by order of the ſtate, to reſtore peace and harmony. They are divided into uluſſes, or which each has a head, whom they call Knaſzi, or little princes. They pay their tribute, or taxes, in furs or a competent ſum of money; and, when they pay this tax, are uſually heated with ſtrong liquor, and ſeldom return without a quarrel and blood⯑ſhed.

Their wealth conſiſts in cattle, which feed, the whole winter, in the fine, mountainous ſtep they inhabit, and retreat, in ſummer, to refreſhing and delightful vales; of courſe, they muſt thrive. The mountain-air, how⯑ever, prevents their growing large. Their horſes are excellent hunters, light-coloured and ſlender, and carry their ſlit noſes in the wind; for they always ſlit the noſtrils of their horſes. They water them without the leaſt reſerve, though in the moſt violent heat, except in ſpring-time, when they deem it hurtful; but no over-heated horſe will they ſuffer to eat, for the firſt two hours. Their oxen and cows are ſpeckled, lively and ſtrong, but ſmall in ſize. Their ſheep are a me⯑dium between Kalmuck and Ruſſian; their noſes are more bent, and their ears more hanging; have the ſame kind of wool, and a fat tail: ſome have horns, [252] ſome not; and many rams have four and ſix horns each. Their general colour is white, with black or ſpeckled heads and breaſts. Sheep, quite white or quite black, are rarely ſeen.

I could learn but little of the religious ceremonies of this people. They are true, and very rank hea⯑thens. They pray to their good god, turning their faces to the eaſt; dreading more a bad Being than a good one, and offer it ſacrifices, that it may not hurt them. To this evil Being they offer a horſe, at a ſpring feſtival; which muſt be of a particular colour. It is led to the altar, and incenſed with the ſmoke of the herb Irwen, which is a ſpecies of fragrant worm-wood, waſhed, and ſprinkled with milk, which, during their prayers, they ſcatter in the air, and throw into the ſacrificial fire; and, after having tied a red and white rag on the fore-part of the mane, and on the tail, they turn it looſe among the herd. Theſe ſacred horſes are called Iſik; and the ceremony above-men⯑tioned, is repeated annually; during which a ſorcerer, or Kamno, acts the principal part. The ſame bad Being, as far as I could underſtand, is repreſented by a houſe-idol, which they call Tous, and which we find, on the eaſtern ſide of every tent, ſtuck on a ſtick, ſplit like a fork, or tied on, upon a band, acroſs two coarſely carved figures, having the reſemblance of two birds, each bearing a woodcock's feather; ſo that the whole has the appearance of a two-bodied bird, with [253] extended wings. Between theſe two, little, carved figures, hangs a piece of fox or ermine-ſkin, and a long tail of ſplit ſinews, interwoven with horſe-hair.

In the yourts, or tents of the rich, I remarked, that there was, between theſe two pieces of wood, a wooden hoop or circle, with a carved beater tied on it; pro⯑bably a repreſentation of the magic drum of the Kam⯑no, who made and conſecrated the idols. Beſides the forked ſtick, are two other ſticks, placed between the ropes that hold the tent together; one carrying a red, and the other a white rag, commonly accompanied by a blue one. Theſe three colours ſeem to be ſacred among the Tartars; and the ſame are choſen by their ſorcerers, or Kamnos, for magic robes and ornaments Theſe ſticks and rags are ſometimes on one ſide the idol, and ſometimes on the other. Many tents, eſpe⯑cially thoſe of the poor, have only, in the forked ſtick, the fur of a fox's tail, and, behind, the end of a ſheep's tail, with its wool. On both ſides theſe orna⯑ments, hang little rags or blue cloth, and down the band, hangs a thick cord, made of brown and white ſheep's wool, twiſted. Beſides this, there are ſticks, with white and red rags. Some hang up only an ermine ſkin, in a ſtick; theſe I found on the eaſt and weſt ſides of the tents; whereas the ſticks, with the rags, were only on the eaſtern ſide. They do not ſuffer any one to touch theſe ſacred things, and often pray [254] about them, when they are in want of any thing. At the ſpring-feaſt, this idol is alſo incenſed, over the fire, with the herb Iwen; therefore, looks much ſinged. In many tents, where I have ſeen the idol, I have ſeen alſo this herb, fixed up with it.

‘Their ſorcerers, or magic prieſts and prieſteſſes, make uſe of ſmall drums," ſays Gmelin, "in their incantations, as do the Laplanders; and are diſtin⯑guiſhed, in dreſs, by a quantity of miſhapen idols, rudely caſt in iron, which are faſtened on their garments, together with the claws of birds, and ſtrips of cloth and furs. Their caps are generally or⯑namented with a border of lynx-ſkin, and a bunch of owls feathers.’

‘They have as many wives as they can maintain or purchaſe; but ſeldom has one man more than four. The ceremony of aſking in marriage, is like that of the Tſchoulyms, excepting only that with the pipe of tobacco is left a cup of brandy. If the pipe is ſmoked, and the brandy drunk, the propoſal is accepted. Six months after this, the bridegroom comes, and courts the young woman in the ſame way; the price is then agreed for, which is from five to 100 head of cattle: but if the ſuitor be poor, he will work for the father-in-law, for three, four, or five years, in order to obtain his daughter. Dur⯑ing this time, if any richer, or handſomer gallant, [255] applies for the girl, he carries her off, ſeemingly againſt her inclination; and thus ſhortens forma⯑lities. The injured lover, who perhaps has waited a year or two, accompanied by her friends, purſues the fugitive; but as the runaway-couple ſeldom fails to improve that time, which the other loſes in pre⯑paring for the purſuit, and as the girl gives the preference to the pretended raviſher, all the labour⯑ing lover can obtain, is a competent recompence for his paſt ſervices. Should the betrothed damſel die, before the performance of the marriage-contract, the price paid is withheld, for the purchaſe of her ſiſter; and if ſhe has no ſiſter, the ſuiter loſes his money, or his labour. If the young man dies before the wedding, the girl is the property of his father, who takes her home, and leads her to his ha⯑ram.’

When all preparations for the wedding are made, and the bridegroom arrives with his friends to fetch the bride, his parents and relations are introduced to the bride's father's tent, who ſits at the upper end, with the mother; and all the reſt ſit round in a circle, or ſtand out before the tent. The bride then falls down before her parents, bidding them farewell, with tears; and takes her leave of her ſiſters and relations. The cries and lamentations of all the women preſent, now become general; and the bridegroom leads the bride away, by the hand, to another tent prepared for [256] them. The whole day, then, and many following ones are ſpent in feaſting and diverſions. Sometimes, a bride ſhall be ſecretly carried off by a rival; in which caſe the argumentum baculinum takes place, and the law of the fiſt decides between the parties. Should the bride be unfaithful to her lover, or commit adultery, there are various proceedings, which end in ſatisfaction being made to the lover, or the huſband.

‘After the marriage, a father-in-law is not per⯑mitted to ſee a daughter-in-law; nor ſhe to look on him; and, if they meet by chance, ſhe falls flat on her face, that ſhe may conceal it. A huſband diſ⯑ſatisfied with his wife, may return her to her friends, without any formal proceſs, though it be two or three years after marriage; but then he is obliged to maintain the children, and loſes the money he paid for his wife.’

‘There is no diſeaſe peculiar to this people; ex⯑cept that a great number of the girls, in the time of their menſes, are in a ſtate of furor, or phrenſy, from which they do not return for many days. The ſmall-pox, whenever it appears, makes great ra⯑vages among them. In caſes of ſickneſs, they have recourſe to the magic prieſt, who performs ſacrifices for their cure, even in the venereal diſeaſe, which is no uncommon complaint.’

[257]They bury their dead without coffins, and in their uſual dreſs; put ſome few neceſſary utenſils into the grave, and cover the corpſe with boards, before they ſhovel in the earth, that the earth may not touch it. On the grave-hill, they place a drinking-cup, and leave it there. At the expiration of a year, from the day of interment, the relations of the deceaſed viſit the grave, firſt lament the loſs of the deceaſed, and finiſh with drinking the ſtrong liquors they bring with them, out of that cup they left; and each drinks out of it ſo often, that they generally return very merry from this mournful viſit.

For all their diverſions, they have but one muſical inſtrument, called Jailtaga. It is a box of ſir, about four feet long, and three inches broad; the upper part open, over which ſix wire ſtrings are ſtretched. It is played on with both hands, and produces treble and baſe; it is uſed with the left hand, and little with the right. To tune this inſtrument, they place a bridge under each ſtring, and ſhiſt it, till it produces the tone they wiſh. Their maladies are like thoſe of the Kalmucks; and ſo are their dances.

On the 29th of September I left theſe people, paſſed over a mountainous diſtrict, and got before a great ſalt-lake, Bylykul, 52 miles in circumference. There I met with a number of rare plants; and, among theſe, one that has not yet been deſcribed by botaniſts. It is [258] a ſpecies of madwort (Alyſſum), which I ſhall give a deſcription of, when I meet with it more in perfection than at preſent. Not far from the Bylykul, we changed horſes, and continued our road till we came to the mine Itkulſkoi, where we ſpent the night. The works here are ſuſpended; but they have dug to the depth of 18 fathoms, and found a fine, lazuli ore, which contains, in 36 pounds of raw done, 15lb. of copper, nine drams of ſilver, and 13 drams and a half of gold. A new mine is opened cloſe by, and the peaſants work here for their head-tax. The Jeniſei here is 300 fathoms wide; we croſſed it, paſſing many iſlands in the middle, where grew a great quantity of wild hops, and, on the other ſide, found ourſelves, on the 2d of October, in the fortreſs, Abakanſkoi Oſtrog.

This is a wretched, decayed place, has a wooden church, and but few buildings; but a governor reſides here, who has the command of all the diſtrict round it. The climate is however mild; and an inhabitant of Little Ruſſia, here ſettled, has begun to cultivate to⯑bacco, and intends to plant fruit-trees, and breed bees. About this place, there are abundance of rare, little birds; the ſnow-bird, the croſs-bill, the water-wagtail, the titmouſe, and wood-pecker; which con⯑tinue here the whole winter. The inhabitants told me that, two years ſince, a number of white ſpotted bears had been ſeen here, who ſeemed to have travelled from far, as they were quite lean and weak, and ſo hungry, that they ran into ſome of the neighbouring villages, where many had been killed.

[259]During my ſtay, here, I ſaw two white ſparrows, but none of my hunters could kill any. I would wil⯑lingly have ſpent my winter here; but, there being no comfortable apartment to be had, was obliged to look out for proper accommodations in Kraſnojarſkaja. The winter was faſt approaching, and being afraid of the river's freezing, I thought proper to ſet out on the 4th of October, it being neceſſary to croſs the Jeniſei, to go to Kraſnojarſkaja.

On the 5th, being near the river, we ſaw two floats coming down from the iron-manufactory eſtabliſhed a little higher up, and capable of receiving all our wag⯑gons. I had thus an opportunity of going to Kraſno⯑jarſkaja by water, which was at the diſtance of 75 miles. This manufactory was erected 16 years ago, by a merchant, whoſe ſon is now the proprietor. It be⯑longs to the diſtrict of the ſupreme mine-office at Catherineburg, though at the diſtance from it of 1875 miles. Its ſituation is delightful, and its mill-head 190 fathoms long. The works here conſiſt of five ſmelting furnaces, two blaſts with double receiv⯑ers, and ſeveral forges and hammer-works.

All things being ready for our departure, we ſet off on the floats, October the 8th, at noon; a third part of this paſſage, at high-water, is often made in one day; but we were unfortunately delayed, by being ſtranded on a ſand-bank, by the imprudence of the wa⯑termen, [260] and could not get off. With hard labour, however, we got clear in the ſpace of three hours; and ſoon after moored along ſide of the village Of⯑ſcharſkaja, where I took up my night's lodging. In the banks of the river, oppoſite this place, they collect a great deal of that which is called ſtone-butter. It is gathered here every year, from among the clefts of the black, allum ſlate, of which this bank conſiſts; and is ſold at Kraſnojarſkaja, at 15 or 20 copecs per pud. The common people uſe it as a medicine in dyſen⯑teries; alſo againſt hemorrhages of lying-in women; and in venereal diſorders; and likewiſe, as an emetic, for children. In caſe of neceſſity, they uſe alſo the ſtone-vitriol, inſtead of vitriol, to dye leather; and blackſmiths uſe it, to make ſteel.

Next morning, the 9th, we unmoored betimes, and continued our paſſage down the Jeniſei. Towards night, we reached the mouth of the river Mana, and the village Oſjanſkaja, and ſlept there. This village is a rare example of the propagation of mankind, in the wild deſarts of Siberia. The whole village, a few houſes excepted, is inhabited by people originating from one ſtock. Here are 25 wealthy families, and almoſt as many others, of the ſame origin, who are ſettled in the villages along the Jeniſei. The father of this numerous poſterity, one Juſchkof, came, two centuries ago, into this diſtrict, from Ruſſia; and it was, at that time, inhabited, and is moleſted ſtill, by [261] the Kirgeſe. He had ſeven ſons, one of whom was killed by the Kirgeſe; the reſt ſettled and increaſed his progeny, and became fathers of 50 families.

Their indefatigable induſtry in hunting, ſeems to be hereditary to the whole poſterity, for they are all peo⯑ple of property. With reſpect to hunting the wild uninhabited mountains upwards, the river Mana affords them an excellent opportunity; not to mention the ſmaller animals, as weaſels, ſquirrels, &c. they catch fables, lynxes, and bears, in abundance. The muſk is alſo very abundant there. They catch it in autumn, and in the beginning of winter, with ſnares and traps, in which the animal ſhortly dies. The muſk-bag, which is by far leſs fragrant than the Chineſe, is ſold at from 20 to 30 copecs; and is uſed, like their deer furs, as it ſurpaſſes every fur, by its ſoftneſs. The river Mana ſupplies them, likewiſe, plentifully with fiſh; and, beſides this, they apply themſelves to agriculture, and have ſome extenſive farms upon the river. It is but 15 miles from the village we laſt ſlept at to Kraſnojarſkaja; we reached that town on the 10th of October, 1771, in good time; and here I took up my winter-reſidence.

With this I ſhall end the ſecond part of my account; and ſhall give the reader the obſervations I made, in the courſe of this year, in the beginning of the third part.

TRAVELS THROUGH Siberia and Tartary, PROVINCES OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE;
PART III.

‘NOT wiſhing to tire our readers, by following our Author in all his minute and particular accounts and deſcriptions, of every wood, lake, and mountain, and every little village and brook he paſſed, nor in meaſuring every inch he travelled, as he has done, we have contented ourſelves with giv⯑ing the great outline of the road he journeyed, and circumſtantially relating, from his pen, every thing, [263] even in natural hiſtory, worth remarking, and what we could ſuppoſe any claſs of our readers might wiſh to be acquainted with. We have, however, paſſed over the nature of the roads, and the bad accommodations he met with. Suffice it to ſay, that being equipped, at government-expence, with ſuch paſsports and neceſſaries as a traveller, in ſuch a wild and dreary country, might ſtand in need of, ſuch as credit, tents, proviſions, forage, cloaths, me⯑dicines, mathematical inſtruments, tools, men verſed in various ſciences, draftſmen, huntſmen, interpre⯑ters, guides, eſcorts, ſervants, waggons, &c. he traced every navigable river, from its mouth to its ſource, travelled all the boundaries of the empire, from fort to fort; and at theſe places got a change of horſes, occaſional eſcorts, and freſh equipment. In ſome places, he traverſed mountains; in others, forced through woods, almoſt impervious; in others, floundered over marſhes; and, in others again, forded rivers, or croſſed them in ferries, or on rafts: ſometimes encamping in the deſarts, and often ſleeping in the open air.’

‘In ſome parts of Tartary, the roads are tolerably paſſable; the cuſtomary highways are known from place to place, by the annual paſſing of caravans: there he found, occaſionally, way-houſes, with relays of horſes, and ſome accommodations. Where there were no ſuch houſes, unleſs he was in the vicinage or [264] ſome fortreſs, where the commanding-officer accom⯑modated him with regimental horſes, and an eſ⯑cort of the troops; he was under a neceſſity of en⯑camping on the road, and refreſhing the ſame horſes, by food and reſt. A number of difficulties he encountered, as we have ſeen, and ſhall ſee; but an inquiſitive mind, which is panting after know⯑ledge, fears no danger, ſurmounts every obſtacle in its way, and purſues its end with unremitting ardour.’

Kraſnojarſkaja, Oct. 1771. After my arrival here, the weather was uncommonly mild and delightful, as it uſually happens in this ſeaſon, throughout the ſouth⯑ern diſtrict of Siberia, and almoſt in all eaſtern, moun⯑tainous countries, At the latter end of the month, however, winter ſet in; the whole diſtrict was expoſed to ſtorms, between N. W. and S. W. and the rivers drove a great deal of ice. It rained and ſnowed till the 18th of November, when a froſt ſucceeded, and ſhut up the river Jeniſei entirely. The rapidity of this river ge⯑nerally keeps it open till the middle of November, and the ice diſſolves again in April.

In the nights of the 7th and 8th of December, the cold was ſeverely felt; the thermometer mounted 190° on the 9th in the morning, to 194°; on the 10th, 203°; on the 11th, 209°; and on the twelfth, 202°. It then ſnowed; but, with the beginning of [265] the year, the cold became ſo intenſe, that, on the 5th of January, the thermometer pointed at 201°, on the 6th, 206°; the 8th, 212°; and on the 9th, 196°. A violent ſtorm, that blew from the north-weſt, con⯑cluded this ſevere weather on the 13th, which brought on continual, weſtern ſhowers that augmented the ſnow, and the winter continued moderate. The ſun began to ſhine warm in the latter half of February, and the ſnow thawed away from moſt ſummits of the neighbour⯑ing mountains.

The town, or city, has changed but little in the laſt thirty years. It is almoſt the ſame as it was when Gmelin was here. The ſtone-cathedral is not yet finiſhed; the inhabitants are as few, and it has re⯑ceived no increaſe of buildings. Perhaps the indo⯑lence and debauchery of the common citizens, nurſed by the low price of corn, and the great plenty of pro⯑viſions, may be the cauſe of the bad progreſs of this place. In every other reſpect, Kraſnojarſk is moſt advantageouſly ſituated for commerce. It is, at pre⯑ſent, a place through which all Ruſſian merchants paſs to trade with the Chineſe; and it is here, and at Tomſkoi, that paſſengers eagerly buy up common ſables, and other furs, wanted by the Chineſe. From the months of November till February, we ſee many thouſand, hired ſledges paſs, in caravans, through this town, which do not ſtop at all, becauſe the merchant to whom the caravan belongs, rides be⯑fore, [266] and purchaſes the furs he wants, chiefly with ready money; of courſe, Ruſſia goods are much dearer here than in Irkuzkaja. Chineſe goods are alſo at a more than reaſonable price in the ſhops here, be⯑cauſe the ſale of them is too inconſiderable, and there are but two or three merchants capable of dealing in ſuch goods. They, therefore, put ſuch a price on them, as they think proper, and certainly not to their diſadvantage.

The productions of this diſtrict are, in general, cheaper than the productions of any other part of the Ruſſian empire; though no province complains of higher prices. I ſhall ſcarcely be believed, when I de⯑clare that, on my arrival in Kraſnojarſk, a pud or 36lb. of rye-flour would ſell for no more than from 2½ to 3 copecs, each copec a halfpenny Engliſh; wheat⯑flour, from 4½ to 5 copecs per pud; beef, from 15 to 20 copecs; a cow, for one ruble (4s. 6d. Engliſh); good horſes for three rubles, and ſometimes for two; a ſheep, from 30 to 50 copecs; and hogs, at the ſame price. But the price of corn ſeems to have riſen a great deal, owing to the great quantities tranſported on the rivers Tſchoulym and Ob, to the diſtant manu⯑factories, mines and fortreſſes; to a brandy-diſtillery, at no great diſtance; and to an Imperial magazine: and yet the price of rye has not riſen more than five or ſix copecs per pud.

[267]Hence may be ſeen the great fertility and abund⯑ance of this diſtrict; for though, within the town, there is great ſcarcity of buyers, as moſt of the inha⯑bitants grow their own corn, and breed their own cat⯑tle, yet the great exportation of corn, in the barren diſtricts of the regency of Irkuzkaja, and more to the north about the Jeniſei, one would imagine would be ſufficient to raiſe the prices higher, if the fertility of the country was not ſo extraordinary. There has never been an inſtance of a failure in the crops; and it is reckoned but a moderate harveſt, when ſummer-rye produces ten-fold the ſeed, the winter crops eight-fold, barley twelve-fold. In the worſt years, wheat pro⯑duces ſix-fold; and oats, ſeldom leſs than twenty-fold. Common buck-wheat is but little ſown here; and, where it is ſowed, it muſt be done in ſome worn-out piece of ground, or the extraordinary richneſs of the ſoil, would ſpoil the crop. In the worſt ground, it will bear from twelve to fifteen-fold. This very rich ſoil generally in the heights and vallies, is every where black and light, and forbids the uſe of all dreſſing. A fallow of one year will improve the lands for ten or fifteen years, and ſometimes for a longer time; and ſhould the fertility of this ſoil decreaſe, the huſband⯑man has ſufficient land in the ſteps, that will anſwer every purpoſe. The new fields are commonly prepared after the ſummer-ſeed is over. They burn it up firſt in the beginning of June, plough it once more at the end [268] of the month, and it is then fit to receive the ſeed of the winter-crop in Auguſt: or they will ſow it with wheat, the enſuing ſpring; in which caſe, ſuch new land is to be ploughed a third time; for there is no winter wheat throughout Siberia; though it is ſo com⯑mon and uſeful in the diſtricts of Caſan, and on the Kama. After the firſt crop, ſuch a field is left, during the next winter, unploughed. In the fourth ſummer, they lay it up, after ploughing it twice; and ſuch lay⯑lands are ſown in the autumn, or the following ſpring; for moſt grounds bear two years out of three, and high, dry, and ſandy ſpots, at leaſt every other year; and are fit for all ſorts of corn, hemp, and peaſe.

I have been more circumſtantial here than I ſhould have been, in order to give an account of the mode of agriculture in the eaſtern parts of Siberia; and to ſhew how happy the countryman muſt be in theſe foreign diſtricts, and how much they deſerve to be better peopled.

The juriſdiction of the regency of this town ſpreads, in length and breadth, over 450 miles of ground; and yet is not inhabited by more than 15000 men; among whom are 3000 Tartars, who live merely by hunting, and breeding of cattle: yet this diſtrict: ſurpaſſes the more eaſtern countries of Siberia in population. But he who conſiders that Siberia has not, but within theſe [269] two centuries, been much more peopled than North-America, and was then as unknown a wilderneſs as that, muſt be ſurpriſed at the preſent ſtate of the country, and the great number of Ruſſian inhabitants, who far ſurpaſs the natives, in ſkill and induſtry. The diſcovery, and rapid conqueſt of ſo vaſt a territory, unknown before, extending to the eaſtern ocean, muſt be an everlaſting monument of celebrity to the genius, intrepidity and perſeverance of the Ruſſian nation; and its population, now carrying on to the utmoſt, may be looked upon as a maſter-piece in policy.

The Siberians pay but little attention to culinary herbs, though they thrive well in Kraſnojarſk, and all the ſouthern diſtricts of Siberia. The early, white froſts in autumn, do leſs damage even to the moſt ten⯑der plants, than the later froſts in May; of courſe, gourds and girkins come to perfection in the open fields, when melons and water-melons will ſcarce thrive in gardens. They have begun to cultivate tobacco, and with great ſucceſs. This plant finds many pur⯑chaſers among the Pagan nations; but they do not know the proper time when the leaves are to be taken off, or how to prepare them. The tobacco, therefore, of Kraſnojarſk, on account of its greenneſs, goes by a different name from other tobacco; and the beſt price it will fetch, is about 25 copecs per pud, whilſt the common leaves, grown in and about Udinſkaja, [270] will fetch 60 copecs. The inhabitants of this place carry on a good trade in wild hops, which grow plen⯑tifully in the iſlands of the Jeniſei, and bring here a number of buyers in autumn. They ſell at the rate of from 50 copecs to one ruble per pud. They are chiefly carried to Jeniſeikaja, Irkuzkaja, and thoſe diſtricts upon the Tunguſka where there are no hops. What they do not ſell, they keep for their own brewing; and hereby indulge their debauchery.

Among the uſual, wild growths of the mountains of Kraſnojarſkaja, the rhapontic, or rhubarb, deſerves our notice. When the medical college, at Peterſburgh, is in want of any, the people here engage to procure a certain quantity, and carry it to the town-houſe, at a certain price. To do this, they employ a number of mountaineers to dig the root in autumn, in places be⯑yond the Abakan. The beſt is brought from Udinſ⯑kaja, and is dug in the mountains, about the rivers Uda and Birjuſſa. Commonly they are roots of the rhubarb (Rheum undulatum), and ſome other ſuch like ſpecies, which ſeems to be different from what bota⯑niſts call Rhaponticum. I am at a loſs to know whe⯑ther the moiſtneſs of the ſoil in which the Siberian rhapontic grows, about the mountain-brooks, muſt be aſcribed to the climate, eſpecially the wetneſs of the laſt ſummer, when all the old rhapontic-plants were rotten in the principal knots of their roots, which are often very large. The innermoſt parts of the thick [271] root is always found, there, changed, quite to the peel, into a yellow-brown, marrow-like matter, bitter, and aſtringent to the taſte: it is only in the cylindrical con⯑tinuations of the roots, that there is any good medicinal virtue; and, therefore, the Siberian rhapontic is vul⯑garly called, on account of its form, Tſcherenkowoi Re⯑wenn. During the winter, 1771, they ſent, from Kraſ⯑nojarſk to Tobolſkoi, 511 puds; from whence it was conveyed to Peterſburgh, for the uſe of the college. But theſe roots might have been gotten better and ſtronger, if the rhapontic diggers had more particular directions how to prepare it: for, as ſoon as theſe people have brought the roots home, they peel, cut them in pieces, and dry them in a gentle warmth; and hereby the root loſes its moſt efficacious moiſtneſs, dries up, and becomes quite ſpongy, ſo as to be very unlike the genuine rhubarb, either in appearance, or ſtrength. On the contrary, I took ſeveral rhapontic roots, which I received quite untouched, ſome from Udinſkaja, and ſome from the Sajanian mountains, which I hung up in the cieling of a warm room, and, when ſufficiently dried, I ſhaved off the medicinal parts of the root quite clean, and found them compact, and high-coloured, like the beſt Chineſe rhubarb; and it was very little inferior to that in ſtrength, and far ſu⯑perior, in taſte and efficacy, to the rhapontic, pre⯑pared in the common way. Were it poſſible to find diſtricts in the Siberian mountains, where the prin⯑cipal [272] ſtem of the rhapontic is not rotten, I doubt not but all its roots, if prepared in my way, would be equal, at leaſt very little inferior, in ſize, beau⯑ty, ſolidity, and ſtrength, to the Chineſe rhu⯑barb.

Kraſnojarſkaja, like moſt parts of Siberia, abounds in all ſorts of wood; and the fineſt timber may be felled, with very little trouble, from the deep moun⯑tains about the Jeniſei, and floated down to this town. Except the plane, the elm, and the linden-tree, which are not to be found in the eaſtern part of Siberia, all common ſpecies of trees are to be met with in great abundance. There is alſo great quantities of cedars in the neighbourhood of the river Mana. About Abakan⯑ſkaja grows, on the Jeniſei, abundance of fragrant poplars, whoſe reſinous buds afford a delicious winter-repaſt to woodcocks, and gives their entrails a fine balſamic perfume. There is alſo a great deal of under⯑wood, of various denominations; particularly the haw⯑thorn, and cotonaſter.

Kraſnojarſk is plentifully ſupplied, in winter, with game, and all ſorts of furs. A liberty of hunting ſuch animals, properly ſpeaking, is only granted to the Siberians; who pay a tax for ſuch leave, and who make hunting their principal occupation: yet the Ruſ⯑ſian peaſant commonly devotes his indolent winter to the chace. They ſet traps and ſnares for all ſpecies of [273] game, and catch a great number of ermines, and other animals. Theſe people will purchaſe, from the ma⯑giſtrates, a permiſſion to hunt; and are at liberty to hunt with ſuch a licence; but if they hunt, without obtaining this, run the riſk of being caught by the Tartars, and chaſtiſed upon the ſpot, or put into the hands of juſtice, which always rewards the appre⯑hender.

Sables are a common animal in the diſtrict of Kraſ⯑nojarſkai; and there are two ſpecies, ſome long-haired and greyiſh, and ſome ſhort-haired and black. Thoſe caught about this place are of inferior value. Wolves are much extirpated here, as they are in moſt parts of Siberia. Foxes, however, are very abundant in the open diſtricts; and they bring, from the northern parts, black, and black-grey ones, of great value. Beavers and otters are alſo abundantly met with; and the latter are often ſold at ſeven rubles each, and ex⯑ported to the frontiers of China. Lynxes are not ge⯑neral, and reach to the ſame price; their parti-coloured fore-paws are ſold ſeparately. Hyenas are more abundant; and a black one will ſell for four rubles. There are ſtill a greater number of badgers; but as their ſkins are of little value, they are ſeldom killed, but when they are bad neighbours, or when their fat is wanted. Ermines are caught in large quantities. Whilſt they were ſaleable, in the Chineſe trade, a ſkin would ſell for 25 copecs; but there is no buyer now [274] that will give a fifth of that price. The yellow weaſels may be plentifully caught in the woody diſtricts, and with little trouble. Thoſe which by accident fall into the traps, or ſnares, are purchaſed by merchant-paſ⯑ſengers, at five or ſix copecs each; and are a favourite object of ſale to the Chineſe, who pay a very good price for them: of courſe, they are ſold much dearer at Irkuzkaja, and are not carried into Ruſſia at all. The pole-cat is not bought here, at any price; though its ſkin is much finer in Siberia, and of a much whiter and more elegant colour, than in Ruſſia.

Larger game, as elks, ſtags, deer, and muſks, are in great abundance; eſpecially on the other ſide of the Jeniſei. The Tartars pay a good part of their taxes in elk, and large ſtag-ſkins; which the treaſury takes for the uſe of the cavalry, at 60 and 120 copecs each. According, however, to a new regulation, the head-tax is no longer paid per head, but by whole tribes; ſo that all the Pagan families in the diſtrict of Kraſnojarſk, pay together 5262 ſables; yet the tax goes by the denomination of that ſpecies of fur not⯑withſtanding, though the tribute is paid in other furs, or in money, rating a ſable at one ruble.

Deers are ſo common here, that the whole animal, ſleſh and fur, will ſcarce ſell for 15 copecs: hence their ſkins are moſtly uſed, and ſold for furs to travel in; and the price for one, is in copecs. Muſks, I [275] obſerved, were here caught in great numbers. The males are ſold, on account of their bags (Struika), from 30 to 50 copecs each; whereas the female, fur and ſleſh, will ſcarce fetch 10 copecs. They brought me, as a great curioſity, a female muſk, quite white; and, afterwards, they ſent me the white fur of a male.

Fiſh is not ſo abundant in this province, as in ſome other parts. The Katſcha being ſhallow, like many other Siberian rivers, becomes ſtinking in win⯑ter-time, under the ice, and has therefore no fiſh. The Jeniſei has but few branches; and, on account of its rocky bottom, and the rapidity of its ſtream, is very little fit for fiſhing. Fiſhes of paſſage very ſeldom come into it, from the north, or glacial ſea. It has but one or two ſpecies of Ruſſian ſalmon, and very few ſturgeons; and huſos are found in it, which are very delicious. They are, however, not eaſily taken; as they ſelect ſuch deep ſpots, in winter, as cannot be got at.

The whole diſtrict of Kraſnojarſk, whoſe court of Waywods is ſubordinate to the regency of the province of Jeniſei, and whoſe governor is ſubject to the mi⯑litary-office at Tomſkoi, contains, at preſent, 9228 Ruſſian peaſants, 807 coloniſts, 128 exiled perſons placed among the coloniſts, 2023 citizens and tradeſ⯑men (Poſatſky and Zechowye), and 2994 Tartars of [276] different tribes, who pay tribute, and are divided into ſix diſtricts, are again ſub-divided into certain claſſes, and who pay, in the whole, annually, 5161 rubles.

In January, Mr. Surjef arrived at my lodgings in Kraſnojarſk, from a tour he had made, in the courſe of the laſt ſummer, along the river Ob, to the frozen ocean. I will give my readers an extract of his obſervations and papers, from the time of his de⯑parture.

He left Tſcheljabynſkaja on the 26th of February, 1771: his road, as far as Tobolſkoi, produced no⯑thing remarkable. In the latter place, he was moſt kindly received by his excellency Governor Tſchit⯑ſcherin, who gave him every neceſſary paſsport for the diſtrict of Bereſowa; to which place he ſet forward, on a ſledge, on the 8th of March. His road thither was principally all along the banks of the Irtiſch, which are ſcattered with Tartarian, Ruſſian, and, far⯑ther north, with Eaſtjaikian villages, through which he paſſed. The Tartarian towns reach only as far as Demjanſkoi jam, at the diſtance of about 195 miles from Tobolſkoi; but the Eaſtjaikian villages extend beyond Demjanſkoi, and occur frequently. In ſome villages, the Eaſtjaiks live with the Ruſſians; and, in general, as far as Bereſowa, are apparently chriſtians, having been baptiſed. All the way, as far as Demjan⯑ſkoi [277] jam, the country is, in a great meaſure, under cultivation by the Ruſſians and Tartars. From this place, northwards, they ſaw nothing but barley and oats, and very little ſummer corn, as it does not thrive, owing to the cold and moiſtneſs of the ſoil: they ſow hemp and flax among it. The colewort gets no heads here, and grows looſe in leaves. Leeks, radiſhes, tur⯑neps, and horſe-radiſh, if the weather is tolerable, thrive pretty well.

Further down the river, into the ſteps, the country is not habitable at all, being wholly wood and deep mires, impervious at all ſeaſons. The wood chiefly conſiſts of underwood, and badly grown trees. The moſt common trees are, willows, dwarf-cherries, alders, white cornels, aſps, poplars, birches, pines and firs, which are ſeldom of a fine growth. The linden is not ſeen further north than 27 miles from Tobolſkoi. Of ſmall buſhes and ſhrubs, the country produces red and black currants, the uva urſi, and ſeveral others. On both ſides the river are lakes, which have a communication with the river, where the water is high.

Samarofſkoi jam is the moſt conſiderable place be⯑tween Tobolſkoi and Bereſowa, and is diſtant from the former town 412 miles, by water, and ſituated on the right of the Irtiſch, in a low border, juſt underneath a higher and more mountainous country, only 20 miles beyond the communication of the Irtiſch with the Ob. [278] The place was colonized in 1637, with ſeveral families from Demjanſkoi, and the northern diſtricts of the regency of Caſan; and conſiſts of 100 dwellings, and a church. The inhabitants have no agriculture; and, further north, up the Ob to the Surgut and Narym, no corn is ſown at all, but is brought, by the Irtiſch, from Tobolſkoi.

In Samarofſkoi, horſes do not thrive well; they die, in great numbers, for want of proviſion. Laſt year, the water was ſo high, that it covered all the meadows with ſlime, juſt before they were to be cut, and ſpoiled them. This diſtrict, however, is bleſſed with an abundance of fiſh and water-fowl, on which the Ruſſian inhabitants, and Eaſtjaiks, have their chief ſubſiſt⯑ence. The Chineſe moths are found, in this place, but no farther north.

Bereſowa, called, by the Eaſtjaiks, Sumytwaſch, by the Samojedes, Chucharn, lies on the river Joſwa, at 20 miles from its mouth into the next branch of the Ob. It is irregularly built, and has not above 150 houſes, moſtly inhabited by Coſſacks; but there are alſo two churches, and a cathedral, or mother-church, all built of ſtone. Without the town is a chapel, dedicated to St. Alexander Newſkoi, of whom they tell a number of miraculous ſtories; particularly one of a cedar-tree's growing in the centre of the chapel, whilſt they were building it. The inhabitants [279] are ſubſtantial, peaceable, and hoſpitable people, who have enriched themſelves by fiſhing, hunting, breeding of rein-deer, and trading with the pagan and Ruſſian merchants, who viſit them. They pay little attention to the unwholeſomeneſs of their ſituation; and, by in⯑temperate drinking, bring on a great many diſeaſes, and often ſudden death.

Bereſowa ſupplies Tobolſkoi, and other towns ſitu⯑ated on the river Ob, with frozen fiſh in winter, and dried fiſh in ſummer. From this place are brought half the blue and white ice-foxes, dreſſed and undreſſed elk and rein-deer ſkins, black and white bear-ſkins, red foxes, wolves, bad ſables, a great number of bea⯑vers and otters, and abundance of other furs. For agriculture the country is unfit, like all others north of this. The environs of the town are low and marſhy woods, of birch, fir, and cedar; the trees of which are not very tall. Of garden-ſtuff, ſome thrives very well. The fiſhery is aſtoniſhingly rich; and, from ſpring to autumn, they have an inexpreſſible quantity of large water-fowls, as ſwans, geeſe, ducks, &c. The moſt wealthy of the inhabitants keep, in the northern diſtricts, large herds of rein-deer, under the care of ſhepherds; for this is the only domeſtic animal that will thrive well in the north. Oxen and horſes cannot live there. Few of the inhabitants keep either ſheep, ſwine, or chickens. Thoſe who keep the latter, are obliged to ſhut them up, leſt they ſhould be torn by [280] the dogs; for as dogs are employed, in winter-time, to draw little, travelling ſledges, to carry wood, and other ſervices, a great number of them are kept; and they are the more uſeful, as they require little attend⯑ance, and will pick up their living on the remains of fiſh and fowl that is every where ſcattered, and par⯑ticularly as they will feed on the water-rat, of which there are many in the Ob. But, in another reſpect, theſe animals are a nuiſance, as they make an intole⯑rable howling every morning, throughout the whole town; like the crowing of cocks, as ſoon as one begins, all the dogs of the town are ſure to follow.

Bereſowa lies about five degrees more to the north than Tobolſkoi; according to the oblique direction of the rivers, the diſtance from it, by water, is 757 miles; by land, in the winter-road, only 675 miles. Not⯑withſtanding the ſummer is ſhort, it is ſometimes very hot; and the weather, in winter, often ſo ſoft and mild, that the ſnow melts upon the roads. In 1771, the warm weather continued all Auguſt and September; but the froſt followed ſo ſuddenly, that the rivers were frozen in the middle of October. The Ob uſually freezes about that time, and is not open before the end of May.

Birds of paſſage arrive much ſooner than the end of May, and continue in the lakes till they find, in the [281] rivers, and in the northermoſt wilds, proper places to make their neſts. Should there be ſtill, on their ar⯑rival, any winter weather in the diſtrict of Bereſowa, they make up the river into the more ſouthern and watry diſtricts upon the Irtiſch; and, as ſoon as the weather becomes milder, draw down in crowds north⯑wards, to people their cold and native home. Mr. Surjef ſpent the ſpring at Bereſowa, collecting the rareſt ſpecies of water-fowl, and their number is aſtoniſhing. The moſt curious birds he brought me were as follow: Of the gooſe kind, Anſer pul⯑chri collis; of ducks, Anas fuſca, nigra, marila, hy⯑emalis, and acuta, which were caught in great num⯑bers; the diver, Colymbus arcticus et immer. Of gulls, Larus minutus; of land-birds, the falcon, Falco bar⯑barus, which builds its neſt in the northermoſt moun⯑tains in ſummer; and the wood-pecker, Picus tridactylus. Every ſpecies of wild duck, ſmall and large geeſe, common plovers and gulls, ſnipes, and other ſuch birds, increaſe the crowd; and their number is above expreſſion.

When Mr. Surjef had completed his collection of water-fowls, he proceeded on his journey to the ſea-coaſt. In ſummer, there is no way to Obdorſkoi-Gorodok, the moſt northern place of note, but by water; he therefore ſet out the 11th of June, with a huntſman, an interpreter, and ſix coſſacks, in a large barge. The river had now ſo much overflown all the [282] low lands and iſlands, that it looked like a vaſt ſea; here and there a willow-tree, ſhewing its top above water. He arrived at Obdorſkoi-Gorodok on the 14th, a diſtance, by water, of 225 miles. This place is called, by the Eaſtjaicks, Pulnowat-waſch; and, by the Samojedes, Sola Chern. It is ſituated near the 67th degree of north-latitude, and is erected on a moun⯑tain, on the border of the little river Polni, which, at four miles from thence, empties itſelf, on the right, into the Ob. Obdorſkoi-Gorodok conſiſts only of five houſes, but a number of magazines and ſtore-houſes; and has, at a diſtance, the appearance of a very extenſive village. It has a church, dedicated to St. Baſil. The Ruſſian inhabitants remain there during the winter, and leave it in ſummer; but many Eaſt⯑jaiks repair there in winter, and live in demi-ſubter⯑ranean dwellings. Here reſides an inſpector, or Ope⯑kun, placed over the neighbouring Eaſtjaiks and Sa⯑mojedes: he is a Coſſack born, and commands an Ataman, and 25 Coſſacks.

The diſtrict on both ſides the Ob, is mountainous; and the mountains, which conſiſt chiefly of a chertz⯑like ſlate, are very bare. Near Obdorſkaja there are no other trees than ſome few willow-buſhes on the bor⯑der of the Polni; higher up that river are larches, pines, birches, and alders, and ſome few pine-trees. Near the icy ſea grow ſome little larches and alders; but they creep upon the ground, like eſpaliers, or like [283] the ſhrubs in high mountains. In Obdorſkaja the ſum⯑mer is very delightful, by the continual preſence of the ſun, though it be but ſhort. During the long days, the ſun, at night, is but one hour inviſible; hiding it⯑ſelf behind an adjacent mountain, but does not ſink below the horizon. At this time, at night, when near the horizon, it is very large, and its light ſo weak, that it may be looked at ſtedfaſtly with the naked eye. On the 30th of July, the ſun ſet, ſo that the ſtars be⯑came viſible. In winter-time, the long light does not laſt more than two or three hours, except when the brilliant, northern lights illumine the nocturnal hemiſ⯑phere. About Obdorſkaja one never hears the buſtling noiſe which many of theſe phenomena make in the air. They commonly appear like bright bows about the ho⯑rizon, from which iſſue ſome very agile, light columns. Seldom is a tempeſt heard here in ſummer; never above once or twice in the whole diſtrict: but thunder is commonly heard, as at a diſtance, rolling from north to ſouth. The weather is ſcarce ever ſo warm, as to render a light fur-dreſs inſupportable. On his journey to the glacial ſea, Mr. Surjef felt but five days ſo warm, that he could ſay he ſweated, or could go with⯑out a fur. In July, the northern winds begin; white froſts, and ice, is not uncommon, and the plants turn yellow. The largeſt radiſhes, and turneps, they can raiſe at Obdorſkaja, weigh ſomewhat more than five ounces, but the leaves grow a foot long. No other garden-ſtuff thrives at all. The ground thaws only on [284] the ſurface; and, near Obdorſkaja, the elevated flat ſoil becomes wet, nine, twelve, or fifteen inches deep; lower on, it is ſcarce ſix inches deep. Further north⯑ward, the ground is higher and ſandy, to the depth of ſix or eight inches. In watry ſpots, we ſee bare ice, underneath the moſs that covers them. No large cat⯑tle, brought to Obdorſkaja, ever lived ſo long as five years. Horſes can be kept no where north of Bere⯑ſowa. Some were once brought to Obdorſkaja, but they did not live a year. For this reaſon, they keep only rein-deer which are here at home, and multiply very faſt, in ſpite of many diſorders, and the danger of wild beaſts. Of courſe, theſe animals make a conſiderable part of the property, both of the Ruſſian and pagan inhabitants, of theſe northern lands.

Preparations for his further journey on the borders the glacial ſea, detained Mr. Surjef till the end of June. He wanted proviſions, and attendants, who were here increaſed by ſome Samojedes, and their wives, who offered their ſervice as guides, and as in⯑terpreters; and alſo a great number of rein-deer to change; for theſe animals ſoon grow weary. The northern borders of Siberia, towards the coaſt of the frozen ſea, is, to the breadth of ſome hundred miles, a watry, moſſy, and woodleſs marſh, in which it is difficult to travel, even in ſummer-time; but, as I have obſerved, there being, underneath the moſs, ice, or [285] frozen earth, well-trodden by rein-deer; the light ſledges of the Samojedes glide eaſily away on the moiſt moſs ſurface, which would by no means bear a wheel.

On the 1ſt of July, Mr. Surjef proceeded on his journey; and the next day he went, in a boat, down the Polni, and acroſs the Ob, and ſome other parts of the country, to the diſtance of 52 miles, paſſing ſe⯑veral ſettlements, to a place where the rein-deer were in readineſs, to convey him on. In one ſettlement, conſiſting of yourts, or tents, lives the governor of the Samojedes of Obdorſkaja, and the Eaſtjaiks. His fa⯑ther was preſented, at Moſcow, by the preſent Em⯑preſs, with robes, and a diploma; but died there be⯑fore his return.

On the 3d, Mr. Surjef, and his ſuite, ſet out with rein-deer, and took the land-road inwards from the river Ob, ſtraight north, over even, marſhy lands, green with all ſorts of reed-graſs, and a few plants, with creeping willows, and large-leaved, dwarf birches (Betula nana), and ſeveral others, beſides the Arbutus alpina; the more elevated, yet moiſt and loamy places, were ornamented with little, ſcattered larches. They alſo paſſed many lakes, of various extent; and, the ſame day, reached the river Chaja, which flows from the mountains, into the gulph of the Ob. The breadth of this river was 18 fathoms, the ſtream very rapid, [286] and the water as bright as chryſtal. Travelling on, they reached, on the 6th of July, thoſe mountains which make part of the northern Ural. The road here was very difficult for the rein-deer, ſome of whom dropped, and could not be brought upon their legs again, even by bleeding, which operation the Samo⯑jedes perform under their tail. After a good day's journey (which, in ſummer-time, does not exceed 15 or 18 miles, on account of the frequent changing of the rein-deer, and the loſs of time on that account), they croſſed two very rapid rivers, above 20 fathoms broad.

On the 8th, the Samojedes ran, till noon, before they could bring the rein-deer together, 70 of which were to go with them; and which, on account of tor⯑menting inſects, had retreated into cool vallies; of courſe, they could not get far that day. From the 19th to the 26th, they paſſed only a wild, barren country, full of capes and lakes, the icy ſea in ſight all the way, and pitching their tents at night, at which time they made fires to keep themſelves warm; and as they paſſed through a country where there was no wood, they were obliged to take wood with them. The water of the frozen ſea is ſo cold, that a bather, in ſummer-time, could not ſtay in it a few moments, without being benumbed; and it would be death to a delicate conſtitution. Having travelled along the coaſt, more than three weeks, the extent of Mr. Surjef's route [287] was completed; and, as the ſeverity of the weather oppoſed a farther continuation, he ſet out on his return the 28th of July, and reached Obdorſkaja again on the 14th of Auguſt. ‘In his tour he collected a number of plants and marine productions, but the names of them would be of little amuſement to a general rea⯑der, as none were very curious or new.’ Who would believe that the remains of elephants bones, ſo fre⯑quently found in Siberia, ſhould alſo be met with ſo far north? Yet, it is certain, that the Samojedes find them in great abundance.

Before Mr. Surjef left the diſtrict of Obdorſkaja, he made two other excurſions, in ſpite of the ſevere, autumnal weather; one with rein-deer, towards the Uralian mountains; and the other, by water, to the gulph where the Ob flows into the ocean.

He ſet out for the firſt on the 18th of Auguſt, and returned to Obdorſkaja on the 22d. In his way he croſſed the river Sob, near its mouth, where it was 60 fathoms broad, and came to a granite mountain, whoſe ſummit reached the clouds, and was covered with ſnow, that fell, between the full and new moon of July. During the night they travelled along this moun⯑tain, where the wolves fell upon the rein-deer, and ſo diſperſed them, that they could ſcarce get ſufficient to bring them back; for theſe deer accompany the ſledges, though turned looſe.

[288]The ſecond tour he undertook, on the 25th of Auguſt, in a boat. On the 11th of September he returned from Obdorſkaja to Bereſowa; and, on his return to me, brought me a young ſea-bear alive, and an enormous buffalo's ſkull, which he found in the earth, the breadth of which, between the horns, is 10 Paris inches, the breadth, before the horns, 13 inches, the length of the horn-holes, 18 inches, and the circumference, 12¾ inches.

Having thus given a ſhort account of his tour, I ſhall ſpeak of the pagan inhabitants, their hunting and fiſheries; and ſhall begin with the Oſtiacks, or Eaſtjaiks, of whom I truſt I ſhall give a more complete account, than any that has been hitherto given.

‘Eaſtjacks, At the beginning of the 17th cen⯑tury,’ ſays Dr. Gmelin, ‘when the Ruſſians had extended their conqueſts as far as the Jeniſei, theſe Eaſtjaiks were in poſſeſſion of the deſarts, they now occupy along the banks of that river, and the rivers that empty into it. They were then near neigh⯑bours of the Samojedes, with whom they were in ſome meaſure mixed, In 1608, they not only ſub⯑mitted to Ruſſia themſelves, but their princes gave all their aſſiſtance, to bring the people ſettled higher up, into the ſame ſubjection.’ Thoſe on the river Ob, are one of the firſt Siberian nations that were diſ⯑covered [289] and conquered by the Ruſſians; and, like moſt Siberian tribes, ſince their conqueſt, have very much diminiſhed, by the ſmall-pox, and other diſeaſes, for⯑merly unknown to them; yet they ſtill make a con⯑ſiderable body of people, eſpecially in the diſtrict of Bereſowa, extending up the Ob, as far as the diſtricts of Narym, and Surgut.

They are, in general, middling-ſized people, and ſhort; not very ſtrong, and particularly thin and lean. Their faces are diſagreeable, pale, and flat, yet with⯑out any characteriſtic form. The ruddy and light-coloured hair that hangs about the head of the men, renders them ſtill more ugly. Among the women grown to full age, we ſcarce meet with a fine face. The Eaſtjaiks are timorous, ſuperſtitious, and ſimple; but otherwiſe have a tolerable ſhare of good-nature. They are, from their youth, laborious; being obliged to put up with a troubleſome and bad way of living: but as ſoon as they find themſelves a little above indi⯑gence, they are ſlothful, eſpecially the men; and, in their whole, domeſtic management, very diſguſtful and filthy.

The women wear, next their ſkin, a kind of bed-gown, made of fur, and open all the way before; they are not very wide, yet ſufficiently ſo as to lap over, and tie together. This is the only garment they wear: they take care to keep it cloſe before, but are not per⯑mitted to wear a girdle. They never wear any breeches; and, as they go bare-footed in ſummer, was it not for this fur-garment, they would be quite naked. In win⯑ter, at home, they wear ſtockings, like the men; their hair is braided into two treſſes behind, which hang down the back, and are tied together by a ſtring. Added to this, the more wealthy faſten on the hair be⯑hind, two long ſtrips of good cloth, which reach to the joint of the knee, and are decorated with braſs and cop⯑per-plates, repreſenting little horſes, rein-deer, fiſh, and other figures. Thoſe that have not much hair, wind a piece of cloth about their heads, which croſſes behind, and hangs down the back in two long ſtrips. Both men and women wear long pendants, in their ears, of beads of ſeveral colours, ſtrung on a wire, or [292] ſtring; and ſeveral men wear rings in their ears. As ſoon as any one enters their tent, whether ſtrangers or relations, the women cover their whole heads with a linen veil, and will not be unveiled, even before their own mother. Theſe veils are called, Wokſche, are worked on the borders, and ornamented with fringes. This is not an affected, but a real, bluſhing modeſty in the Eaſtjaik girls and women; and, is carried ſo far, that whenever a ſtranger arrives, they endeavour to leave the tent, or hide themſelves in a corner.

Among the women it is reckoned an ornament to mark the back of the hands, and the fore-part of the arm, with various, bluiſh figures and points: for this purpoſe, they draw the figure they mean to mark, upon their ſkins, with foot, and prick it with needles till it bleeds; in ſo doing, the prick given with the needle, leaves a blue ſpeck, and the figure being ſo pricked all over, remains on the ſkin in uſe. Men only prick on their hands that ſign, by which they are re⯑giſtered in the tax-book; and which is conſidered, by other Siberians, unſkilled in writing, as their ſignature, in law. The men will alſo, occaſionally, prick all ſorts of figures upon their ſhoulders, and other parts of their body, where they have ſcarified themſelves, in caſe of ſickneſs. As the Eaſtjaik women ornament themſelves, in this reſpect, as do the Tunguſe, and ſome nations in North America, ſo have they, like the women in Kamſchatka, another ridiculous and peculiar cuſtom; [293] that of wearing continually in the vagina, a tent twiſted together, and made of ſoft willow-baſt ſcraped, which they occaſionally remove, and often change; and, leſt this tent ſhould fall from its ſituation, by the motion of the body, they have fancied a girdle (Worop), formed like thoſe chaſtity-girdles, invented by the jealouſy of our ſouthern Europeans; from which paſſes a band between the legs, covering the whole with a piece of birch-bark, ſewed to it;—a contrivance that, at certain times, is not without its uſe.

As other nomades are called ſhepherds, the Eaſtjaiks may be called, a nation of fiſhermen; for fiſhing, dur⯑ing the whole ſummer, and in part of the winter, is their chief occupation. Hunting, and bird-catching, is an occaſional employ; but deſerves a deſcription, equally with their fiſheries. Such being the life of an Eaſtjaik, it is naturally unſettled; of courſe, in ſummer-time, they move their habitations to places moſt adapted for fiſhing; but, like the Baſkirians, and ſome Siberian Tartars, have ſettled habitations in win⯑ter, to which they annually return.

A ſummer-tent (Chat) is made without much al⯑teration; the birch-bark which covers it, is carried with them in boats made of hollow trees, enlarged with boards faſtened on them, as are alſo the poles with which they form their tents; theſe poles are ſet cloſe toge⯑ther, in form of pyramids, and covered with the bark. [294] In theſe boats they go, with their wives and children, and all that belongs to them—I ſpeak this only of ſuch Eaſtjaiks as live beyond Bereſowa; for higher up the country, moſt of them live in huts built of timber, have benches to ſleep on, and, in many points, con⯑form to the Ruſſian mode of living.

They chuſe, for their winter abodes, high and dry ſpots, or the banks of neighbouring rivers. Here they build, with young timber, regular, ſquare huts, ſimilar to a Ruſſian houſe, but low; ſometimes half under⯑ground, and without a roof; inſtead of which, they cover the top with turf and leaves, leaving only a ſquare air-hole, which they cover, in winter, with a tranſparent piece of ice. On each ſide of this houſe, is an open paſſage fenced in, in which are two cloſets, where they keep their ſuperfluous furs, and neceſſaries. Such huts are inhabited by more than one family; and the place, within the walls, is divided into as many apartments as there are families. Though nar⯑row and confined, the mother muſt put up with one room, for the children and the whole family; who do their work before a ſmall fire. It may eaſily be con⯑ceived, that there cannot be the beſt order in ſuch a room, where all things muſt lie littered about: three, four, nay, ſix families, ſhall live together in ſuch a hut. Beyond Bereſowa, there are but few huts, or jourts, that have not thirty families in each. Thoſe mothers who have infants, have a cradle, made of [295] birch-bark, before their houſe, and fill it with any fine and bruiſed rotten wood they can find, which ſerves the infant as a bed; and all the wet ſuch infant makes, is abſorbed in this wood-duſt. The cradle is covered with a piece of fur, faſtened to it by ſtrings. The beds of ſuch as are grown up, are made on the bare ground, with rein-deer furs and hay; except in ſuch rooms where there are benches to lie on, underneath which their favourite dogs lie, eſpecially thoſe who have whelps. Common ſledge-dogs lie without the houſe; yet, when the maſter wants to go out, they are ad⯑mitted within, to be fed. In the centre of the jourt is a common fire, pretty large, where every one dreſſes his victuals when he pleaſes, for they have no regular meals; and here they alſo roaſt the remains of what fiſh they leave, for the dogs. From this continual roaſting, the cielings of their winter-dwellings are ſo much covered with foot, that it hangs down like iſicles. One may eaſily judge of the offenſive ſmell, and damps, at entering ſuch a hut; from whence no dirt or filth, made by men or dogs, is removed; and where even children perform their occaſional and neceſſary wants, without going out.

Beſide theſe winter-huts, they build often, at a little diſtance from them, in the woods, places to ſtore their proviſions in (Labaſſy), where they leave all their furs, ſkins, and other articles, for which they have no imme⯑diate uſe, without the leaſt care; and, what the place [296] will not hold, is left without on their ſledges, and is perfectly ſafe, no theft being ever committed.

The filthineſs of this nation cannot be painted ſuffi⯑ciently diſguſtful. Waſhing of hands is unknown among them, except when the women open a fiſh, or take it out of the boiler; at which time they waſh off the filth, and dry their hands in their furs. Men and animals eat out of the ſame veſſel, which is never cleaned. As their felt-like hair ſwarms with vermin, the moſt filthy of all their actions is that of the women, at their leiſure, picking ſuch vermin from their huſ⯑band's heads, and killing them, with all poſſible calm⯑neſs, between their teeth. The rich Eaſtjaiks, how⯑ever, from imitation, are become ſo cleanly, as to make a kind of ſoap, becauſe what the Ruſſians uſe is too ſcarce and dear, and not ſtrong enough to clean their hands, which are, comparatively ſpeaking, an inch thick with greaſe. This ſoap is made by putting a good quantity of ſharp aſhes into a kettle of water, and pouring, by degrees, fiſh-fat into the lye, which they boil together, till it ſettles, and becomes ſoap. They then take it out in pieces, tie it up in rags, and, when they waſh their hands, ſqueeze it like a ſponge: but the common Eaſtjaiks, have no ſuch cleanly thing. One reaſon of their filthineſs is, that the women have too much domeſtic buſineſs on their hands, and are con⯑ſidered by their huſbands rather as ſlaves than conſorts. The wife erects the tent, pulls it down, dreſſes the [297] victuals, drys and mends her huſband's clothes, and ſerves him in every thing; and when the huſband returns from hunting, or fiſhing, ſhe muſt clean, and dreſs the fiſh. The men take nothing on themſelves, but the buſineſs of fiſhing and hunting.

The manner in which theſe women dreſs their ſkins, is a good one, as they keep out the wet; I will, therefore, deſcribe it. Two tools are uſed for this purpoſe; firſt, a ſmall iron, to the middle of which is fixed a wooden handle, and whoſe two ends are crooked and ſharp; with theſe they ſcrape the raw ſkins, firſt on the fleſh-ſide. This done, they chew fiſh-roe, or dried fiſh-bellies, in their mouths, and ſpread it over the ſkin, which is rolled up, and laid aſide, to become moiſt. They then take another ſcraping iron, which looks like a narrow ſickle, with two wooden handles, one at each end; through theſe handles a rope is drawn, which they ſling round their foot, hold the Iron between their legs, and ſcrape the fleſh-ſide of the ſkins clean. After this, they are dried in the tent, or hut, and worked ſoft with the hands. ‘It is the chewed fiſh-roe that renders them impenetrable, by water.’

As it is only the more wealthy Eaſtjaiks, beyond Be⯑reſowa, that keep rein-deer; and we ſee other domeſtic cattle only among thoſe who live more to the ſouth, towards Tobolſkoi, moſt of them muſt live by fiſhing. During the whole ſummer, both young and old, are ſo [298] occupied; and even children are kept to work, accord⯑ing to their ſtrength, in this line. In this ſeaſon, they have ſuch an abundance of fiſh, that they eat nothing elſe; and they ſeldom think of boiling, or roaſting them, but cut off the fleſh, as it comes freſh out of the water, ſauce it with its blood, which flows plentifully from about the tail, when pricked with a needle; take one long ſlice after another, into their mouths, cutting the bits very ſkilfully below their lips; of courſe, in ſummer, their mouths and clothes, ſtink worſe than a fiſh-market. In winter, they are fond of raw frozen fiſh; and are imitated in this by the neighbouring Ruſſians, who eat it ſo, as a preſervative againſt the ſcurvy.

Far more fiſh is caught, in ſummer-time, than they are able to eat, or barter with the Ruſſians. In the lower diſtricts of the Ob, the ſmaller ſorts, which they do not know how to diſpoſe of, are thrown away, and lie about in heaps untouched, even by the dogs. They preſerve their fiſh in three different ways: the whole ſides of large whitings are taken from the bones, dried in the wind, and, to prevent putreſaction, are half-roaſted, and then tied up in bundles, and called Poſeem. The beſt of this kind of food is a fiſh of paſ⯑ſage, caught in the Ob, which they call Mukſun. After drying, it is put into a kettle, and ſtirred about on the fire till it becomes brown, then ſtowed away in veſſels made of birch-bark, or the ſtomach of the rein-deer. [299] The bones are dried and roaſted, and given to the dogs. Jutta is a food made like Poſeem, of ſmaller fiſhes; and put away in bags, made of the ſkin of a ſturgeon. Porſa is a little ſpecies of ſcale fiſh, ſplit, and dried in the wind, and then, with the bones, pounded, as fine as flour. Poſeem is their moſt uſual food; but, to their gueſts, they preſent Mukſun and Poſeem together; ſo that one is uſed as bread to the other. If theſe pro⯑viſions fail, they put up with the Jutta. Porſa is given dried, and ſeldom boiled. Freſh fiſh is only boiled for gueſts, and what they leave, the family eats; and, on ſuch occaſions, they plunge their filthy hands into the kettle, up to their elbows. In winter, they make a ſoup, or fiſh-broth, and put flour in it; this they learnt from the Ruſſians, and throw it down their throats with large ſpoons. The entrails of fiſhes, the Eaſtjaiks make no uſe of, but boil out the fat, and diſpoſe of it to the Ruſſians, who eat it as butter, on their faſt-days. The back-ſinews are ſeldom dreſſed; theſe are uſually eaten raw, without a knife. Eating with a knife is held ominous of unſucceſsful fiſhing. The ſame thing they fear, if a fiſh's belly is ſlit ſtrait down; the wo⯑men, therefore, cut them acroſs.

They make glue of the ſturgeon's air-bladder, by cleaning it from the fat, drying it in the air, boiling it in water till it ſwims at top, and then ſkimming it, and cooling it in cold water.

[300]Hunting is one of the men's winter-occupations; and, in winter, they fiſh underneath the ice. In autumn, when the firſt ſnow ſalls, they hunt elks and rein-deer; and he that kills, makes a feaſt for his friends. The kidnies, lights, and other ſoft parts, are eaten like the melt, raw; part of the fleſh is boiled, and the reſt ſmoked.

In winter, the Eaſtjaiks travel in their ſnow-ſhoes, far into the deſarts and foreſts, and do not return for ſome months, drawing their food with them, on ſmall ſledges. Hunting weapons are all ſorts of arrows; ſome with a fork-like point, others with bone-points, and others clubbed at the end, to kill ſmall animals with. If they kill any large animals in any great number, they flea them, bury the fleſh in the deep ſnow, in a ſpot they can find again, and fetch it at ſome other time, with rein-deer, or dogs. They will eat the fleſh of bears, foxes, ſquirrels, and dead car⯑caſes, without diſguſt. When an Eaſtjaik is expoſed to ſevere cold, pain and hunger, he has recourſe to tobacco, which does him a great deal of ſervice; ſo that they are fond of ſmoking, and taking ſnuff: and as their tobacco is not very ſtrong, they quicken it with the moſt alkaline aſhes of birch, and aſp ſpurges. After filling their noſtrils with ſnuff, they ſtop them with ſcraped willow-baſt, ſo that the pungent, ſharp juice, ſhall raiſe a kind of inflammation in the face, which keeps off the froſt. I muſt not omit, here, their ſu⯑perſtition [301] in hunting. When an Eaſtjaik goes a hunt⯑ing, he wiſhes to ſneeze the day before, and conſiders this as a happy preſage; but ſhould he find himſelf diſpoſed to ſneeze the morning he ſets out, he will make all poſſible grimaces to prevent it, and ſhould he ſneeze after all, nothing can exceed his vexation, con⯑ceiving that, every time he ſneezes, will deprive him of part of his ſport for that day; nay, ſome, on ſuch an occaſion, will not go out at all.

In ſpring, the birds of paſſage claim their attention, and afford them delicious food. Their manner of catching them, ſhall be circumſtantially related.

Notwithſtanding their unnatural food, their drink, (except brandy, which they barter for with the Ruſſians, and drink on the ſpot) is water only; I ſay, notwithſtanding this, they are a healthy people, and, among youth, we ſeldom hear of diſeaſe. But if, from age and infirmities, they are unable to follow their occupations, they are commonly attacked with ſuch ſtubborn, ſcorbutic and paralytic diſorders, as never to riſe again. They know nothing of inflammatory com⯑plaints, except the ſmall-pox, which makes dreadful ravage among children, when it comes. Their man⯑ner of living muſt needs render this diſorder fatal; and, if it enters a village, grown people ſeldom eſcape. Some, however, remain free all their lives. The venereal diſeaſe has alſo found its way among [302] them; but is not ſo infectious, as might be ſup⯑poſed.

Medicines they are unacquainted with. Their beſt cure in fits, ſwellings, and inflammations, is ſcarifica⯑tion, or burning, on the diſeaſed part, a piece of birch-ſpurge; and being of opinion, that the remedy muſt be applied to the place where the evil is lodged, they firſt take a burning coal, and hold it about the diſeaſed part, on different places of the ſkin, till they find a part where the patient does not feel the fire ſo ſenſibly; there they apply it, and keep it till the ſkin is burnt through, and burſts: the patient ſuffering this burning, with the patience of a ſtoic.

They cure obſtructions; with large ſpoonfuls of fiſh⯑fat; and, in dangerous caſes, take crow's eyes. Both theſe are uſed as an emetic and purge. The gall of a white ſea-bear, and bear's heart, are alſo medicines of renown among them. Dried gall is chiefly uſed in ſick⯑neſs among children, or complaints of the belly, and the venereal diſeaſe.

The Eaſtjaiks, particularly beyond Bereſowa, who adhere ſtill to paganiſm, take as many wives as they can afford. It is legal among them to marry their brother's widow, their ſtep-mother, or ſtep-daughter, and other female relations. They are fond of marrying ſiſters of other families; and believe that, men's mar⯑rying [304] with a wife's ſiſter, brings good luck, and, by doing this, they pay the father only half the price, or kalym, firſt paid; but they hold it ſinful and diſgrace⯑ful, to marry relations of the ſame name: yet they at⯑tend only to the male line. If a woman has married into another family, and has borne a daughter, the brother of the mother, or his children, may legally marry that daughter. In ſhort, all marriages are legal, if only the father of the bride, and bridegroom, are of different families.

When an Eaſtjaik goes a courting, he chuſes, from among his neareſt relations and friends, ſome com⯑panions of his own age, and one to be the negotiator; goes with them to his ſweetheart's dwelling, and enters the hut without ceremony. A father who has a mar⯑riageable daughter, ſeeing ſuch a company arrive, rea⯑dily gueſſes the reaſon; therefore, makes no queſtion, but treats them with what his tent will afford. When the gueſts have filled their bellies, they retire to an⯑other tent, and from thence the bridegroom ſends his ſuitor with the propoſals, and enquires the kalym, or price to be paid, The negotiation being entered into, the poor ſuitor runs to and fro, from one tent to the other, to ſettle matters between the two, till the agree⯑ment is concluded on; then the bridegroom goes him⯑ſelf, and pays part of the kalym, the whole being ſel⯑dom paid at once, it being proportioned to the fortune the father gives with his daughter. A rich, Eaſtjaik [304] girl, is not married, without a gift of 100 rein-deer, and an aſſortment of all kinds of furs. The firſt inſtal⯑ment being paid, the bridegroom directs the father to have a bed prepared for him in his hut, and to have his daughter ready. If the father-in-law agrees to this, and accepts the firſt payment, the bridegroom comes, that night, and lays on the ſpot, or bed, appointed for him. Some time after the bride lies down near him, on a ſeparate bench, and covered with a particular fur, till the fires are put out. Next morning, the girl's mother enquires of the bridegroom, whether he is ſatisfied with her daughter. If he replies in the affirmative, he muſt preſent the mother with a gar⯑ment and a rein-deer; and the mother then cuts the rein-deer's ſkin on which the young couple lay, into pieces, and ſpreads it around, in triumph: but ſhould the bridegroom be diſſatisfied, the mother gives him a rein-deer. The bridegroom, after this, ſleeps with his bride; but cannot take her home, till the whole of the kalym, or purchaſe-money, is paid. Sometimes, it ſhall happen, that, when the father is weak or ill, and cannot follow, the huſband ſhall take away his wife, before the ſum agreed on is paid; in ſuch caſes, the father takes the opportunity, at ſome future time, when his daughter comes to pay him a viſit, to detain her, and force the huſband to pay what is owing.

[305]No married woman can appear before her father-in-law whilſt ſhe lives; nor the bridegroom, before his mother in-law, until he has children. They muſt avoid them as much as poſſible; and, if they chance to meet them, muſt turn their backs, and cover their faces. Girls, in Eaſtjaik families, have no names; the huſband, therefore, calls his conſort, wife (Jemi); and the wo⯑men call their huſbands, man (Tahe).

Though the uncivilized Eaſtjaik does not conſider his wife but as a neceſſary, domeſtic animal, and ſcarcely favours her with a good word for all her hard labour; yet he dare not ſtrike her, even for the greateſt crime, unleſs he has the conſent of her father: for, in ſuch a caſe, the provoked wife would run to her parents, and perſuade her father to return the kalym to his ſon-in-law, and ſhe would marry ſome other man.

Theſe people know little about jealouſy; they are much addicted to beſtiality; and their marriages are ſeldom very prolific. Few fathers have more than three or four children; probably, a father's neglect of his children, may ſhorten their days, and rob him of part of them. Though mothers ſhew a greater fond⯑neſs, and will let their infants ſuck as long as they like, even to the fifth year. The women here are eaſily delivered; and the after-birth, and willow⯑baſt, on which they lie, is put into a box of birch⯑bark, and, with ſome meat or fiſh added to it, ſu⯑perſtitiouſly [306] hung upon a tree, in ſome diſtant wood. It is ſaid, that ſhould a poor, Eaſtjaik woman be deli⯑vered of a child on the road, when travelling, and where they cannot ſtop long for want of victuals, the huſband will give her a good doſe of fiſh-glue boiled, and this will enable her to proceed.

They have particular burying-places of their own, called Chalas. A corpſe is not kept long above-ground; he that dies in the morning, is interred at noon. Their graves are made, generally, only two feet deep; becauſe, in moſt places, the frozen ground is too hard to be dug into deeper. The deceaſed is dreſſed in his beſt clothes, according to the ſeaſon of the year; is put on a bench, and all things near him which he uſed; for inſtance, his knife, axe, tobacco-horn filled, &c. except his flint and fire-ſteel, which are only given to the dead, carved in wood. The relations and neigh⯑bours of the deceaſed, aſſemble in his jourt, and de⯑plore him with great howling. The women ſit toge⯑ther, with their faces veiled; and the men ſtand, la⯑menting over the body. Inſtead of a coffin, they bring a little boat, whoſe fore and hind part is cut off, put the deceaſed, with all his things, into it, and carry him to his grave. Men are borne by men; and wo⯑men are carried by women only, to the place of inter⯑ment, which is uſually on ſome height. In the latter caſe, the corpſe is followed by ſome men to dig the grave, and is interred with ſhrieks of woe. The corpſe [307] of a man is followed by three of the beſt and moſt fa⯑vourite rein-deer he poſſeſſed, dreſſed, and harneſſed, in ſledges, and led on by men. As ſoon as the body is interred, and covered with earth, they put a cord round the hind-legs of the deer, which two men pull, whilſt four others run them through the bodies, on all ſides, with pointed poles. When rich men are buried, they kill many more rein-deer, putting ſlings about their necks and feet, and beating them about the back with poles, till they drop down dead. Theſe animals, ſacrificed to the deceaſed, remain on the grave; their houſings are laid on a kind of ſcaffold, made over it with buſhes, and the ſledges are placed ſlanting up againſt it. Near the grave, they dreſs a funeral meal; and when thoſe who attend are ſatisfied, carry the re⯑mainder home, and divide it among the neighbours, in remembrance of their deceaſed friend; and the re⯑lations will afterwards ſometimes celebrate ſuch meals of remembrance.

Before the Eaſtjaiks were ſubject to the Ruſſian em⯑pire, they had little princes among them, whoſe dig⯑nity was hereditary. Some of their poſterity are ſtill in being, but not much reſpected, living in the man⯑ner of the common people, by their labour. If theſe princes left no male iſſue, the elders and moſt wealthy, choſe a ſucceſſor from among themſelves. If any diſ⯑pute happens among the people, theſe ſettle it by ar⯑bitration, or refer the matter to their princes; but if [308] the cauſe is brought before any Ruſſian court of judi⯑cature, it is adjuſted by the evidence of the parties, and the following oath is uſually adminiſtered. A wooden idol being brought, the defendant is reminded of the danger of taking a falſe oath, and conſtrained to cut off the idol's noſe, with an axe, or knife, and in⯑jure it other ways; during this, he muſt repeat, after the interpreter, the following words: ‘If I do not ſpeak the truth, in this cauſe, let my noſe be cut off in the ſame manner; let me be hewn in pieces by an axe; let the beaſts of the foreſt tear me; and every misfortune come upon me!’ By the ſame oath the witneſſes are ſworn; and, out of ſuperſtitious fear, will rather confeſs they are in the wrong, than expoſe them⯑ſelves to the puniſhment of their gods. If they are to ſwear allegiance to a new ſovereign, they are aſſem⯑bled in little circles, an axe is placed in the middle, with which a bear, or bear-ſkin, has been cut in pieces; and each perſon is preſented with a bit of bread, on the point of a knife; during this, he is to take the oath of allegiance, as follows:—‘If I do not remain faith⯑ful to the Empreſs, to the end of my life; if I re⯑volt, or do not pay my tribute; or if I leave my country, or do any other act of perfidy; let me torn by the bear, or choked with this bread I eat ^*; let the axe cut off my head; or let me be killed by this [309] knife.’ This done, they kneel down about a bear's ſkin, and lay hold of it with their teeth, biting it; and many, to ſhew their zeal, will tear out the hairs with their teeth. Similar obligations, on oath, are cuſtom⯑ary, with a bear's ſkin, among moſt of the heathens, in Siberia.

The Eaſtjaik language is like that of Finland, and the Woguls. There are alſo divers dialects of this language. Among the Finniſh dialects, there is none more like the Eaſtjaik, than the Mordvine. As an example, I will give a liſt of words, in the Eaſtjaik, Wogulian, and Mordvine languages; and the ſimi⯑arity will be readily ſeen.

[310]The blindeſt and coarſeſt idolatry is ſtill the reigning religion of the Eaſtjaiks; even of many that are bap⯑tized. Thoſe who, among their magicians, profeſs pa⯑ganiſm, have their idols at home; which are clumſily carved puppets, with a human face, clothed with rags, and put in the beſt corner of the tent. Before each idol, they place a little wooden box, in which the wor⯑ſhiper preſents his god with little preſents, and keeps always for him a horn-full of ſnuff, and ſcraped wil⯑low-baſt; but if this little, wooden god ſhould find him⯑ſelf diſpoſed to take a pinch of ſnuff, he may ſtuff his noſtrils with the baſt, in the Eaſtjaik mode. They in⯑duſtriouſly ſmear the idol's mouth with fiſh-fat, and do him every honour, in their way. Some Eaſtjaiks have deified pieces of logwood, little boxes, and other things, they have bought from the Ruſſians. Such things they decorate in the beſt manner they can, with rings and ribbands, and worſhip them, as others do their wood⯑en puppets. It is truly laughable, to ſee the effect of a Ruſſian traveller's taking out at night, when they are all aſleep, the tobacco from the horn, and leaving the horn in its place; the ſimple Eaſtjaik, in ſuch a caſe, ſuppoſes that the idol has taken all the ſnuff, is ſur⯑priſed at it, and thinks that he muſt certainly have been hunting. It can ſcarcely be credited, that ſuch a people could be ſo blind and ridiculous, as to knock down the idol from its place, and break it in pieces, by various methods, when they are in trouble, and the god will not ſuccour them; though they held the idol [311] in the greateſt veneration before. This is often in uſe among the Eaſtjaiks; but ſcarce ever ſeen in any other pagan nation in Siberia.

They alſo deify, in a certain manner, their deceaſed relations; making wooden images, to repreſent ſome dead perſon they reſpected; and ſet, at the remem⯑berance-meals, their portion before them. Women that loved their huſbands, will take theſe puppets to-bed at night, dreſs them, and never omit plac⯑ing ſome victuals beſore them, when they eat them⯑ſelves.

The Eaſtjaiks worſhip, alſo, certain trees and mountains, that have excited devout ideas; or have been conſidered as ſuch by their magicians. They never paſs ſuch trees, or mountains, without ſhooting an arrow at them; which is a kind of worſhip they pay to theſe objects. But the greateſt adoration, and moſt common, great ſacrifices, are only made to certain eminent people, conſecrated by their magicians. To theſe they fly for refuge, in extraordinary caſes of mis⯑fortune, or danger; wherein the ſorcerers play the principal part, in order to bring the poor people, by their impoſitions, under a blind obedience.

The idols, at preſent worſhiped by all the Eaſt⯑jaiks of the river Ob, and the neighbouring Samo⯑jedes, are in the environs of the tents of Waſarſkaja, [312] a great way beyond Obdorſkaja. They ſtand in a woody vale; where they are carefully watched, and every paſſage to them concealed from the Ruſſians. Before theſe idols, of which there are two, they aſſem⯑ble, in great numbers, to perform their ſacrifices. One is dreſſed in a male dreſs, the other in a female; and both are ſplendidly decked out in the Eaſtjaik way, and no cloth, or furs, ſpared, to make them complete. Their garments are richly ornamented with braſs and iron plates, in form of animals; and, on their heads, are ſilver garlands. Each ſtands on a ſelected tree, in his own jurt, or hut; the trunks of the trees are covered with cloth, and other ſtuff; and, at the top, decorated with a white, iron plate, with a bell hanging on it, that is ſhaken, and rung by the wind. Quivers and bows are alſo hung on the tree of the male pagod; and on all the adjacent trees, a number of ſkins of rein-deer victims, and other ſorts of furs. Round about the idols is a great deal of Eaſtjaik, houſhold utenſils; as kettles, ſpoons, cups, tobacco⯑horns, &c. The men pay their devotions only to the male idol; but the women ſometimes aſſemble before the female idol, led on by a magician of their own ſex, and bring her ſacrifices and preſents.

The Eaſtjaiks formerly had, in many places in the woods, trees, they worſhipped, and preſented with ſkins and ſacrifices; but finding that Coſſack tra⯑vellers made no ſcruple to ſave theſe ſkins, ſuſpended [313] in the air, from putrefaction, by putting them to a better uſe; they contented themſelves with cutting large branches of theſe trees, dreſſing them up, and erecting them in more ſecure places, and there bringing them preſents.

All the diſtricts whoſe environs are conſecrated to an idol, are ſpared by the Eaſtjaiks; ſo as that they nei⯑ther fell wood, or make hay, in ſuch places; nor will they hurt a fiſh, or drink there, leſt they ſhould pro⯑voke the anger of the god. If they paſs ſuch a diſtrict by water, they take care nor to come too near the ſhore, nor touch the land with their oars; and ſhould the diſtrict be extenſive, they take ſufficient water with them, before they come to it; as they would rather die with thirſt, than attempt to drink any water from ſuch a conſecrated river.

All thoſe places where idols were formerly wor⯑ſhiped by their anceſtors, are now well known to poſterity; and if ſome new place is choſen, it is from the caprice of thoſe magicians that are moſt reſpected. A diſtrict full of game, ſhall be conſecrated, by art⯑ful magicians, to an idol; and a tree, on which an eagle hath built her neſt for two years together, is de⯑clared ſacred; and they dare not moleſt that eagle. There could be no greater offence, than for a paſſen⯑ger to kill ſuch eagle; and the teachers and ſupporters of ſo abſurd a ſuperſtition, are the roguiſh magicians, [314] or ſchamans. Any officers; ſent by Imperial command, to make any the leaſt reform, which does not pleaſe the Eaſtjaiks, puts the whole nation into ſuch terror and conſternation, and the magicians take the advantage of theſe times, to relate fictitious dreams to the peo⯑ple, or threaten them with the anger of the gods, or ſome heavier puniſhment; and they get from them as many preſents, by way of ſacrifice, as will maintain them a long time. Theſe ſchamans are commonly ſo cunning, in the beginning, as to tread themſelves a path to ſuch a reſpectable ſituation, as they ſtand in with theſe people, by relations and interpretations of dreams; and afterwards improve themſelves, in the arts of knavery and deception. Superſtition has ſo ſtrong an influence on the minds of ſome people, that they are often terrified at the greateſt trifles; as I ſhall have oc⯑caſion to ſhew.

The opportunities to practiſe magic knowledge here, are caſes of misfortune, horrid dreams, unſucceſsful hunting, or fiſhing, and other accidents. The Eaſt⯑jaik ſorcerers make uſe of a drum, like moſt Siberian ſchamans; and, in their magic ſpells, make horrible contortions of their bodies and faces, before large fires; till the devils which they have brought forth, as they pretend, have given them a proper anſwer. All thoſe that are preſent, make, during the contortions, an un⯑interrupted noiſe with kettles, cups, &c. as loud as they can, and cry out, till they fancy they ſee a blue [315] ſmoke, over the magician's head; who, after the fit, feigns to be, for ſome time, weak, and out of his ſenſes.

The other principal occupation of the ſorcerers is, ordering the general offerings, or ſacrifices; which they command the timid people to make, as they pleaſe, in all extraordinary caſes. I do not ſpeak of little offerings; as the Eaſtjaiks, of themſelves, often carry the idol ſmall preſents and ornaments, game, freſh fiſh, and proſtrate themſelves before it; and, after performing ſupplications, boil the ſacrifice, and ſmear the idol's mouth with the fat, or broth: but I ſpeak of greater ſacrifices, where many rein-deer are killed for the gods, and where the ſchaman is preſent. —The following then is the ceremony: Having bound the rein-deer's legs together, the ſchaman ſtands before the idol, and bawls out as loud as he can, the ſuppli⯑cation of him who offers to the gods; and ſo do the by-ſtanders. Then ſome one, with a bent bow and arrow, ſtands before the rein-deer, and, when the ma⯑gician, with a ſtaff, gives the ſignal on the head of the victim, he ſhoots it with the arrow, and another kills it outright, with a pointed lance, or pole. They next take the animal by the tail, and drag it thrice round the pagod, cut it open, ſqueeze out the blood from the heart, and ſmear the idol's mouth therewith. The head and ſkin is ſuſpended on an adjacent tree; and the meat boiled, and eaten with ſhouts of joy. What⯑ever [316] the Eaſtjaiks think of, ſerves for a ſong, if only bawled in a ſinging tone; and ſuch are the hymns of theſe ſacrifices. At parting, every one cries out as loud as he can, waves his arms in the air, and thus gives his idol thanks, and a farewell. The meat not eaten is taken home, and divided among their wives, child⯑ren, and neighbours; firſt greaſing the mouths of their domeſtic idols with the fat.

When great and general ſacrifices are to be per⯑formed, the rich Eaſtjaiks drive their beſt rein-deer, in whole herds, to be killed; and ſcarcely keep thoſe who are moſt uſeful to them. In ſuch caſes, they know how to ſlaughter the poor victims, barbarouſly and expeditiouſly; for the ſooner a rein-deer falls and dies, the more acceptable to the idol is the offering ſuppoſed to be. A rich man would bluſh, on ſuch oc⯑caſions, to offer leſs than eight or ten rein-deer. Be⯑ſides this, they hang up the beſt furs they have to the idol, as a preſent, and leave them a prey to wind and weather. Offerings are alſo made in ſevere ſickneſſes, according to the number ordered by the magicians. The victims are placed before the door of the patient's hut, and giving into the hand of the rich man a rope, tied on the rein-deer's foot, the friends and relations, ſtanding with the magician, on the outſide of the hut, call upon the idol, till the patient draws the rope, by accident, or intentionally, which is looked upon as a ſignal to kill the victim, and he is ſlaughtered accord⯑ingly. [317] Of ſuch ſacrifices, the ſkin is deſtined for do⯑meſtic uſe, the head and horns put upon a pale, the fleſh eaten, and the forehead and afflicted parts of the ſick man, greaſed with the ſat.

When the Eaſtjaiks have ſhewn their proweſs in killing a bear, the following ceremony attends it. The ſkin is hung upon a high tree, all ſorts of reverence is paid it, and the beſt apologies made to the animal for its being, killed. By doing this, they hope to avert, in a polite way, the injury which might otherwiſe be done them by the ſpirit of the animal. ‘Some ſuch cuſtoms are prevalent in Lapland.’ All, or moſt of theſe ſuperſtitious cuſtoms, are the ſame among all old Siberian pagans.

Particular mention deſerves to be made of the dances of the Eaſtjaiks, which are quite national, and truly remarkable. I ſaw them performed by Ruſſians, who dwelt long among the Eaſtjaiks; and their ridiculous attitudes cannot better be compared, than to a bur⯑leſque pantomime. They divert themſelves thus at their entertainments; and particularly when they have obtained a good deal of brandy, by barter, from the Ruſſians. It is the men only who dance, the wo⯑men are merely ſpectators; and it requires no ſmall adroitneſs, ſtrength, and agility; for they always dance till they ſweat. In theſe dances, they repreſent the [318] proceedings of their anceſtors, in chace of a variety of animals and birds, and even a fiſhing. Sometimes, they imitate the conduct and walk of the moſt im⯑portant animals and birds; and ſatirize the gait of their neighbours, all in muſical cadence; which the player varies, according to the various imitations. In a very droll and laughable manner, do they repreſent the chace of the ſable, the manners of the crane and elk, and the flight and preying of the mouſe-hawk, the man⯑ner of the Ruſſian women waſhing themſelves, and other pleaſant ſubjects. The moſt difficult repreſentation appeared to me to be, that of the crane; when the dancer ſquats down, hides himſelf in a fur, the collar of which he faſtens round a long ſtick, which at top re⯑ſembles the head of a crane; and thus ſquatting, and almoſt bent double, he dances, and imitates, with the ſtick, all the motions of a crane. At the repreſentation of the elk, the muſic imitates the ſeveral actions of the animal, walking, trotting, and galloping; and the dancer makes all the grimaces of that animal, when he is throwing about his eyes, in ſearch of the huntſman who is after him. No one could ſuppoſe ſo much ſkill, and ſo many well-fancied attitudes, among ſo rude a nation. Their moſt favourite dances are, ſatyric repreſentations; and they are fond of ridiculing particular perſons in ſongs, the extemporaneous effuſions of their own brain, when either drunk, or jovial.

[319]Beſides theſe dances and ſongs, they divert them⯑ſelves, occaſionally, with ſtories, which turn ſometimes on love-adventures, and ſometimes on old, incredible, boaſted feats of heroiſm. They tell one of a mighty and valiant Eaſtjaik, who, going a courting, travelled from Obdorſkaja to a diſtance of 340 miles, beyond the Soſwa, in 24 hours, without any change of rein-deer; and, not being able to agree with the father of his girl, carried her off in a little time; and being, on this ac⯑count, obliged to fight with her relations, killed, with his own hand, ſeveral thouſands of them, and ſo on. This piece of chivalry is believed, by the Eaſtjaiks, as true: ſome part of it may be ſo; but it is converted into fable, by poſterity.

The muſical inſtruments of this people are, the Dombra, exactly like the Wogulian lute; and ſome few ſpecies of little harps, called Dernoboi, which conſiſt of a long-ſounding triangular box, covered on the top with a ſounding-board, and ſtrung with 30 ſtrings; which the player touches boldly, preſſing down the thin-ſounding board with his thumb, to give the tones a wavering motion. To one end of this box, is fixed a ſwan's neck.

To ſtrangers the Eaſtjaiks are very hoſpitable; and do not know how to pay ſufficient honour and reſpect to their gueſts. If they have any rein-deer, they will [320] kill one immediately, and ſet before their friend, the tongue, brains, and breaſt, boiled in their way, and conſidered, by them, as delicacies. After the meal, they will make their gueſt ſuch a preſent as they can afford, without expecting any return.