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TENT-LIFE IN
TENT-LIFE IN
By GEORGE KENNAN [Illustration: George Kennan 1868] Tent Life in Siberia A New Account of an Old Undertaking Adventures among the Koraks and Other Tribes In Kamchatka and Northern Asia By George Kennan Author of "Siberia and the Exile System," "Campaigning in Cuba," "The Tragedy of Pelee," "Folk Tales of Napoleon" With 32 Illustrations and Maps 1910...
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PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION.
PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION.
This narrative of Siberian life and adventure was first given to the public in 1870—just forty years ago. Since that time it has never been out of print, and has never ceased to find readers; and the original plates have been sent to the press so many times that they are nearly worn out. This persistent and long-continued demand for the book seems to indicate that it has some sort of perennial interest, and encourages me to hope that a revised, illustrated, and greatly enlarged edition of it wil
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PREFACE
PREFACE
The attempt which was made by the Western Union Telegraph Company, in 1865-66 and 67, to build an overland line to Europe via Alaska, Bering Strait, and Siberia, was in some respects the most remarkable undertaking of the nineteenth century. Bold in its conception, and important in the ends at which it aimed, it attracted at one time the attention of the whole civilised world, and was regarded as the greatest telegraphic enterprise which had ever engaged American capital. Like all unsuccessful v
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GEORGE KENNAN, 1868
GEORGE KENNAN, 1868
TOWARD NIGHT: A TIRED DOG-TEAM From a painting by George A. Frost. WANDERING KORAKS WITH THEIR REINDEER AND SLEDGES From a painting by George A. Frost. TENTS AND REINDEER OF THE WANDERING KORAKS From a painting by George A. Frost. A RACE OF WANDERING KORAK REINDEER TEAMS From a painting by George A. Frost. HOUR-GLASS HOUSES OF THE SETTLED KORAKS From a model in The American Museum of Natural History. INTERIOR OF A KORAK YURT. GETTING FIRE WITH THE FIRE DRILL From a photograph in The American Mus
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CHAPTER I THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH LINE TO RUSSIA—SAILING OF THE FIRST SIBERIAN EXPLORING PARTY FROM SAN FRANCISCO.
CHAPTER I THE OVERLAND TELEGRAPH LINE TO RUSSIA—SAILING OF THE FIRST SIBERIAN EXPLORING PARTY FROM SAN FRANCISCO.
The Russian-American Telegraph Company, otherwise known as the "Western Union Extension," was organised at New York in the summer of 1864. The idea of a line from America to Europe, by way of Bering Strait, had existed for many years in the minds of several prominent telegraphers, and had been proposed by Perry McD. Collins, as early as 1857, when he made his trip across northern Asia. It was never seriously considered, however, until after the failure of the first Atlantic cable, when the exped
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CROSSING THE NORTH PACIFIC—SEVEN WEEKS IN A RUSSIAN BRIG
CROSSING THE NORTH PACIFIC—SEVEN WEEKS IN A RUSSIAN BRIG
"He took great content and exceeding delight in his voyage, as who doth not as shall attempt the like."—BURTON. AT SEA, 700 MILES N.W. OF SAN FRANCISCO. Wednesday, July 12, 1865 . Ten days ago, on the eve of our departure for the Asiatic coast, full of high hopes and joyful anticipations of pleasure, I wrote in a fair round hand on this opening page of my journal, the above sentence from Burton; never once doubting, in my enthusiasm, the complete realisation of those "future joys," which to
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THE PICTURESQUE COAST OP KAMCHATKA—ARRIVAL IN PETROPAVLOVSK
THE PICTURESQUE COAST OP KAMCHATKA—ARRIVAL IN PETROPAVLOVSK
BRIG "OLGA," AT SEA, 200 MILES FROM KAMCHATKA. August 17, 1865. Our voyage is at last drawing to a close, and after seven long weeks of cold, rainy, rough weather our eyes are soon to be gladdened again by the sight of land, and never was it more welcome to weary mariner than it will be to us. Even as I write, the sound of scraping and scrubbing is heard on deck, and proclaims our nearness to land. They are dressing the vessel to go once more into society. We were only 255 miles from the Kamchat
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THINGS RUSSIAN IN KAMCHATKA—A VERDANT AND FLOWERY LAND—THE VILLAGE OF TWO SAINTS.
THINGS RUSSIAN IN KAMCHATKA—A VERDANT AND FLOWERY LAND—THE VILLAGE OF TWO SAINTS.
It has been well observed by Irving, that to one about to visit foreign countries a long sea voyage is an excellent preparative. To quote his words, "The temporary absence of worldly scenes and employments produces a state of mind peculiarly fitted to receive new and vivid impressions." And he might have added with equal truth—favourable impressions. The tiresome monotony of sea life predisposes the traveller to regard favourably anything that will quicken his stagnating faculties and perception
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FIRST ATTEMPT TO LEARN RUSSIAN—PLAN OF EXPLORATION—DIVISION OP PARTY
FIRST ATTEMPT TO LEARN RUSSIAN—PLAN OF EXPLORATION—DIVISION OP PARTY
One of the first things which the traveller notices in any foreign country is the language, and it is especially noticeable in Kamchatka, Siberia, or any part of the great Russian Empire. What the ancestors of the Russians did at the Tower of Babel to have been afflicted with such a complicated, contorted, mixed up, utterly incomprehensible language, I can hardly conjecture. I have thought sometimes that they must have built their side of the Tower higher than any of the other tribes, and have b
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A COSSACK WEDDING—THE PENINSULA OP KAMCHATKA
A COSSACK WEDDING—THE PENINSULA OP KAMCHATKA
Our time in Petropavlovsk, after the departure of the Olga , was almost wholly occupied in making preparations for our northern journey through the Kamchatkan peninsula. On Tuesday, however, Dodd told me that there was to be a wedding at the church, and invited me to go over and witness the ceremony. It took place in the body of the church, immediately after some sort of morning service, which had nearly closed when we entered. I had no difficulty in singling out the happy individuals whose fort
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STARTING NORTHWARD—KAMCHATKAN SCENERY, VILLAGES, AND PEOPLE
STARTING NORTHWARD—KAMCHATKAN SCENERY, VILLAGES, AND PEOPLE
I cannot remember any journey in my whole life which gave me more enjoyment at the time, or which is more pleasant in recollection, than our first horseback ride of 275 versts over the flowery hills and through the green valleys of southern Kamchatka. Surrounded as we continually were by the wildest and most beautiful scenery in all northern Asia, experiencing for the first time the novelty and adventurous excitement of camp life, and rejoicing in a newly found sense of freedom and perfect indep
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BRIDLE PATHS OP SOUTHERN KAMCHATKA—HOUSES AND FOOD OF THE PEOPLE—REINDEER TONGUES AND WILD-ROSE PETALS—A KAMCHATKAN DRIVER'S CANTICLE
BRIDLE PATHS OP SOUTHERN KAMCHATKA—HOUSES AND FOOD OF THE PEOPLE—REINDEER TONGUES AND WILD-ROSE PETALS—A KAMCHATKAN DRIVER'S CANTICLE
At Okuta we found our horses and men awaiting our arrival; and after eating a hasty lunch of bread, milk, and blueberries in a little native house, we clambered awkwardly into our saddles, and filed away in a long irregular line through the woods, Dodd and I taking the advance, singing Bonnie Dundee . We kept continually near the group of mountains which had presented so beautiful an appearance in the morning; but, owing to the forest of birch and mountain ash which clothed the foot-hills, we ca
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THE BEAUTIFUL VALLEY OF GENAL—WALLS OF LITERATURE—SCARING UP A BEAR—END OF HORSEBACK RIDE
THE BEAUTIFUL VALLEY OF GENAL—WALLS OF LITERATURE—SCARING UP A BEAR—END OF HORSEBACK RIDE
It was hard work on the following morning to climb again into the saddle, but the Major was insensible to all appeals for delay. Stern and inflexible as Rhadamanthus, he mounted stiffly upon his feather pillow and gave the signal for a start. With the aid of two sympathetic Kamchadals, who had perhaps experienced the misery of a stiff back, I succeeded in getting astride a fresh horse, and we rode away into the Genal (gen-ahl') valley—the garden of southern Kamchatka. The village of Malqua lies
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THE KAMCHATKA RIVER—LIFE ON A CANOE RAFT—RECEPTION AT MILKOVA—MISTAKEN FOR THE TSAR
THE KAMCHATKA RIVER—LIFE ON A CANOE RAFT—RECEPTION AT MILKOVA—MISTAKEN FOR THE TSAR
To a person of an indolent disposition there is something particularly pleasant in floating in a boat down a river. One has all the advantages of variety, and change of incident and scenery, without any exertion; all the lazy pleasures—for such they must be called—of boat life, without any of the monotony which makes a long sea voyage so unendurable. I think it was Gray who said that his idea of paradise was "To lie on a sofa and read eternally new romances of Marivaux and Crebillon." Could the
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ARRIVAL AT KLUCHEI—THE KLUCHEFSKOI VOLCANO—A QUESTION OF ROUTE—A RUSSIAN "BLACK BATH"
ARRIVAL AT KLUCHEI—THE KLUCHEFSKOI VOLCANO—A QUESTION OF ROUTE—A RUSSIAN "BLACK BATH"
The valley of this river is unquestionably the most fertile part of the whole Kamchatkan peninsula. Nearly all of the villages that we passed were surrounded by fields of rye and neatly fenced gardens; the banks everywhere were either covered with timber or waving with wild grass five feet in height; and the luxuriant growth in many places of flowers and weeds testified to the richness of the soil and the warm humidity of the climate. Primroses, cowslips, marsh violets, buttercups, wild-roses, c
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CANOE TRAVEL ON THE YOLOFKA—VOLCANIC CONVERSATION—"O SUSANNA!"—TALKING "AMERICAN"—A DIFFICULT ASCENT
CANOE TRAVEL ON THE YOLOFKA—VOLCANIC CONVERSATION—"O SUSANNA!"—TALKING "AMERICAN"—A DIFFICULT ASCENT
There was a great variety in the different methods of transportation which we were compelled to adopt in our journey through Kamchatka; and to this fact was attributable perhaps, in a great degree, the sense of novelty and freshness which during our three months' travel in the peninsula never entirely wore off. We experienced in turn the pleasures and discomforts of whale-boats, horses, rafts, canoes, dog-sledges, reindeer-sledges, and snow-shoes; and no sooner did we begin to tire of the pleasu
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A DISMAL NIGHT—CROSSING THE KAMCHATKAN DIVIDE—ANOTHER BEAR HUNT—BREAKNECK RIDING—TIGIL—STEPPES OF NORTHERN KAMCHATKA
A DISMAL NIGHT—CROSSING THE KAMCHATKAN DIVIDE—ANOTHER BEAR HUNT—BREAKNECK RIDING—TIGIL—STEPPES OF NORTHERN KAMCHATKA
I awoke about midnight with cold feet and shivering limbs. The fire on the wet muddy ground had died away to a few smouldering embers, which threw a red glow over the black, smoky logs, and sent occasional gleams of flickering light into the dark recesses of the yurt . The wind howled mournfully around the hut, and the rain beat with intermittent dashes against the logs and trickled through a hundred crevices upon my already water-soaked blankets. I raised myself upon one elbow and looked around
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OKHOTSK SEACOAST—LESNOI—THE "DEVIL'S PASS"—LOST IN SNOW-STORM—SAVED BY BRASS BOX—WILD SCENE
OKHOTSK SEACOAST—LESNOI—THE "DEVIL'S PASS"—LOST IN SNOW-STORM—SAVED BY BRASS BOX—WILD SCENE
On Wednesday, September 27th, we again took the field, with two Cossacks, a Korak interpreter, eight or ten men, and fourteen horses. A little snow fell on the day previous to our departure, but it did not materially affect the road, and only served as a warning to us that winter was at hand, and we should not expect much more pleasant weather. We made our way as rapidly as possible along the coast of the Okhotsk Sea, partly on the beach under the cliffs, and partly over low wooded hills and val
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CUT OFF BY STORM—STARVATION THREATENED—RACE WITH A RISING TIDE—TWO DAYS WITHOUT FOOD—RETURN TO LESNOI
CUT OFF BY STORM—STARVATION THREATENED—RACE WITH A RISING TIDE—TWO DAYS WITHOUT FOOD—RETURN TO LESNOI
Early Saturday morning we moved on to the mouth of the valley, pitched our tent in a position to command a view of the approaches to the Samanka River, ballasted its edges with stones to keep the wind from blowing it down, and prepared to wait two days, according to orders, for the whale-boat. The storm still continued, and the heavy sea, which dashed sullenly all day against the black rocks under our tent, convinced me that nothing could be expected from the other party. I only hoped that they
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KAMCHATKAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS—CHARACTER OF PEOPLE—SALMON-FISHING— SABLE-TRAPPING—KAMCHADAL LANGUAGE—NATIVE MUSIC—DOG-DRIVING—WINTER DRESS
KAMCHATKAN NIGHTS' ENTERTAINMENTS—CHARACTER OF PEOPLE—SALMON-FISHING— SABLE-TRAPPING—KAMCHADAL LANGUAGE—NATIVE MUSIC—DOG-DRIVING—WINTER DRESS
After our unsuccessful attempt to pass the Samanka Mountains, there was nothing for us to do but wait patiently at Lesnoi until the rivers should freeze over, and snow fall to a depth which would enable us to continue our journey to Gizhiga on dog-sledges. It was a long, wearisome delay, and I felt for the first time, in its full force, the sensation of exile from home, country, and civilisation. The Major continued very ill, and would show the anxiety which he had felt about the success of our
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A FRESH START—CROSSING THE SAMANKA MOUNTAINS—DESCENT ON A KORAK ENCAMPMENT—NOMADS AND THEIR TENTS—DOOR-HOLES AND DOGS—POLOGS—KORAK BREAD
A FRESH START—CROSSING THE SAMANKA MOUNTAINS—DESCENT ON A KORAK ENCAMPMENT—NOMADS AND THEIR TENTS—DOOR-HOLES AND DOGS—POLOGS—KORAK BREAD
About the 20th of October a Russian physician arrived from Tigil, and proceeded to reduce the little strength that the Major had by steaming, bleeding, and blistering him into a mere shadow of his former robust self. The fever, however, abated under this energetic treatment, and he began gradually to amend. Sometime during the same week, Dodd and Meranef returned from Tigil with a new supply of tea, sugar, rum, tobacco, and hardbread, and we began collecting dogs from the neighbouring settlement
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WHY THE KORAKS WANDER—THEIR INDEPENDENCE—CHEERLESS LIFE—USES OF THE REINDEER—KORAK IDEAS OF DISTANCE—"MONARCH OF THE BRASS-HANDLED SWORD"
WHY THE KORAKS WANDER—THEIR INDEPENDENCE—CHEERLESS LIFE—USES OF THE REINDEER—KORAK IDEAS OF DISTANCE—"MONARCH OF THE BRASS-HANDLED SWORD"
The Wandering Koraks of Kamchatka, who are divided into about forty different bands, roam over the great steppes in the northern part of the peninsula, between the 58th and the 63d parallels of latitude. Their southern limit is the settlement of Tigil, on the west coast, where they come annually to trade, and they are rarely found north of the village of Penzhina, two hundred miles from the head of the Okhotsk Sea. Within these limits they wander almost constantly with their great herds of reind
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THE SNOW-DRIFT COMPASS—MARRIAGE BY CAPTURE—AN INTOXICATING FUNGUS—MONOTONY OF KORAK LIFE
THE SNOW-DRIFT COMPASS—MARRIAGE BY CAPTURE—AN INTOXICATING FUNGUS—MONOTONY OF KORAK LIFE
On the following morning at daybreak we continued our journey, and rode until four hours after dark, over a boundless level steppe, without a single guiding landmark to point the way. I was surprised to see how accurately our drivers could determine the points of the compass and shape their course by simply looking at the snow. The heavy north-east winds which prevail in this locality throughout the winter sweep the snow into long wave-like ridges called sastrugi (sas-troo'-gee), which are alway
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THE KORAK TONGUE—RELIGION OF TERROR—INCANTATIONS OF SHAMANS—KILLING OF OLD AND SICK—REINDEER SUPERSTITION—KORAK CHARACTER
THE KORAK TONGUE—RELIGION OF TERROR—INCANTATIONS OF SHAMANS—KILLING OF OLD AND SICK—REINDEER SUPERSTITION—KORAK CHARACTER
Our long intercourse with the Wandering Koraks gave us an opportunity of observing many of their peculiarities, which would very likely escape the notice of a transient visitor; and as our journey until we reached the head of Penzhinsk Gulf was barren of incident, I shall give in this chapter all the information I could gather relative to the language, religion, superstitions, customs, and mode of life of the Kamchatkan Koraks. There can be no doubt whatever that the Koraks and the powerful Sibe
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FIRST FROST-BITE—THE SETTLED KORAKS HOUR-GLASS YURTS—CLIMBING DOWN CHIMNEYS—YURT INTERIORS—LEGS AS FEATURES—TRAVELLING BY "PAVOSKA"—BAD CHARACTER OF SETTLED KORAKS
FIRST FROST-BITE—THE SETTLED KORAKS HOUR-GLASS YURTS—CLIMBING DOWN CHIMNEYS—YURT INTERIORS—LEGS AS FEATURES—TRAVELLING BY "PAVOSKA"—BAD CHARACTER OF SETTLED KORAKS
On the morning of November 23d, in a clear, bracing atmosphere of twenty-five degrees below zero, we arrived at the mouth of the large river called the Penzhina, which empties into Penzhinsk Gulf, at the head of the Okhotsk Sea. A dense cloud of frozen mist, which hung over the middle of the gulf, showed the presence there of open water; but the mouth of the river was completely choked up with great hummocks, rugged green slabs, and confused masses of ice, hurled in by a south-westerly storm, an
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FIRST ATTEMPT AT DOG-DRIVING—UNPREMEDITATED PROFANITY—A RUNAWAY—ARRIVAL AT GIZHIGA—HOSPITALITY OF THE ISPRAVNIK—PLANS FOR THE WINTER
FIRST ATTEMPT AT DOG-DRIVING—UNPREMEDITATED PROFANITY—A RUNAWAY—ARRIVAL AT GIZHIGA—HOSPITALITY OF THE ISPRAVNIK—PLANS FOR THE WINTER
We left Mikina early, November 23d, and started out upon another great snowy plain, where there was no vegetation whatever except a little wiry grass and a few meagre patches of trailing-pine. Ever since leaving Lesnoi I had been studying attentively the art, or science, whichever it be, of dog-driving, with the fixed but unexpressed resolution that at some future time, when everything should be propitious, I would assume the control of my own team, and astonish Dodd and the natives with a displ
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DOG-SLEDGE TRAVEL—ARCTIC MIRAGES—CAMP AT NIGHT—A HOWLING CHORUS—NORTHERN LIGHTS
DOG-SLEDGE TRAVEL—ARCTIC MIRAGES—CAMP AT NIGHT—A HOWLING CHORUS—NORTHERN LIGHTS
The morning of December 13th dawned clear, cold, and still, with a temperature of thirty-one degrees below zero; but as the sun did not rise until half-past ten, it was nearly noon before we could get our drivers together, and our dogs harnessed for a start. Our little party of ten men presented quite a novel and picturesque appearance in their gaily embroidered fur coats, red sashes, and yellow foxskin hoods, as they assembled in a body before our house to bid good-bye to the ispravnik and the
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DISMAL SHELTER—ARRIVAL OF A COSSACK COURIER AMERICANS ON THE ANADYR—ARCTIC FIREWOOD A SIBERIAN BLIZZARD LOST ON THE STEPPE
DISMAL SHELTER—ARRIVAL OF A COSSACK COURIER AMERICANS ON THE ANADYR—ARCTIC FIREWOOD A SIBERIAN BLIZZARD LOST ON THE STEPPE
Our short stay at Shestakóva, while waiting for the Penzhina sledges, was dismal and lonesome beyond expression. It began to storm furiously about noon on the 20th, and the violent wind swept up such tremendous clouds of snow from the great steppe north of the village, that the whole earth was darkened as if by an eclipse, and the atmosphere, to a height of a hundred feet from the ground, was literally packed with a driving mist of white snowflakes. I ventured to the top of the chimney hole once
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PENZHINA—POSTS FOR ELEVATED ROAD—FIFTY-THREE BELOW ZERO—TALKED OUT—ASTRONOMICAL LECTURES—EATING PLANETS—THE HOUSE OF A PRIEST
PENZHINA—POSTS FOR ELEVATED ROAD—FIFTY-THREE BELOW ZERO—TALKED OUT—ASTRONOMICAL LECTURES—EATING PLANETS—THE HOUSE OF A PRIEST
The village of Penzhina is a little collection of log houses, flat-topped yurts , and four-legged balagáns, situated on the north bank of the river which bears its name, about half-way between the Okhotsk Sea and Anadyrsk. It is inhabited principally by meshcháns (mesh-chans'), or free Russian peasants, but contains also in its scanty population a few "Chuances" or aboriginal Siberian natives, who were subjugated by the Russian Cossacks in the eighteenth century, and who now speak the language o
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ANADYRSK—AN ARCTIC OUTPOST—SEVERE CLIMATE CHRISTMAS SERVICES AND CAROLS—A SIBERIAN BALL—MUSIC AND REFRESHMENTS—EXCITED DANCING HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS
ANADYRSK—AN ARCTIC OUTPOST—SEVERE CLIMATE CHRISTMAS SERVICES AND CAROLS—A SIBERIAN BALL—MUSIC AND REFRESHMENTS—EXCITED DANCING HOLIDAY AMUSEMENTS
The four little Russian and native villages, just south of the Arctic Circle, which are collectively known as Anadyrsk, form the last link in the great chain of settlements which extends in one almost unbroken line from the Ural Mountains to Bering Strait. Owing to their peculiarly isolated situation, and the difficulties and hardships of travel during the only season in which they are accessible, they had never, previous to our arrival, been visited by any foreigner, with the single exception o
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NEWS FROM THE ANADYR PARTY—PLAN FOR ITS RELIEF—THE STORY OF A STOVE-PIPE—START FOR THE SEACOAST
NEWS FROM THE ANADYR PARTY—PLAN FOR ITS RELIEF—THE STORY OF A STOVE-PIPE—START FOR THE SEACOAST
Immediately after our arrival at Anadyrsk we I had made inquiries as to the party of Americans who were said to be living somewhere near the mouth of the Anadyr River; but we were not able to get any information in addition to that we already possessed. Wandering Chukchis had brought the news to the settlement that a small band of white men had been landed on the coast south of Bering Strait late in the fall, from a "fire-ship" or steamer; that they had dug a sort of cellar in the ground, covere
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A SLEDGE JOURNEY EASTWARD—REACHING TIDE-WATER—A NIGHT SEARCH FOR A STOVE-PIPE—FINDING COMRADES—A VOICE FROM A STOVE—STORY OF THE ANADYR PARTY
A SLEDGE JOURNEY EASTWARD—REACHING TIDE-WATER—A NIGHT SEARCH FOR A STOVE-PIPE—FINDING COMRADES—A VOICE FROM A STOVE—STORY OF THE ANADYR PARTY
I will not detain the reader long with the first part of our journey from Anadyrsk to the Pacific Coast, as it did not differ much from our previous Siberian experience. Riding all day over the ice of the river, or across barren steppes, and camping out at night on the snow, in all kinds of weather, made up our life; and its dreary monotony was relieved only by anticipations of a joyful meeting with our exiled friends and the exciting consciousness that we were penetrating a country never before
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CLASSIFICATION OF NATIVES—INDIAN TYPE, MONGOLIAN TYPE, AND TURKISH TYPE—EASTERN VIEW OF WESTERN ARTS AND FASHIONS—AN AMERICAN SAINT
CLASSIFICATION OF NATIVES—INDIAN TYPE, MONGOLIAN TYPE, AND TURKISH TYPE—EASTERN VIEW OF WESTERN ARTS AND FASHIONS—AN AMERICAN SAINT
All the inhabitants of the settlement were in the streets to meet us when we returned; but we were disappointed not to see among them the faces of Macrae and Arnold. Many bands of Chukchis from the lower Anadyr had arrived at the village, but nothing had been heard of the missing men. Forty-five days had now elapsed since they left their camp on the river, and, unless they had died or been murdered, they ought long since to have arrived. I should have sent a party in search of them, but I had no
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AN ARCTIC AURORA—ORDERS FROM THE MAJOR—ADVENTURES OF MACRAE AND ARNOLD WITH THE CHUKCHIS—RETURN TO GIZHIGA—REVIEW OF WINTER'S WORK
AN ARCTIC AURORA—ORDERS FROM THE MAJOR—ADVENTURES OF MACRAE AND ARNOLD WITH THE CHUKCHIS—RETURN TO GIZHIGA—REVIEW OF WINTER'S WORK
Among the few pleasures which reward the traveller for the hardships and dangers of life in the Far North, there are none which are brighter or longer remembered than the magnificent auroral displays which occasionally illumine the darkness of the long polar night, and light up with a celestial glory the whole blue vault of heaven. No other natural phenomenon is so grand, so mysterious, so terrible in its unearthly splendour as this. The veil which conceals from mortal eyes the glory of the eter
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LAST WORK OF THE WINTER—BIRDS AND FLOWERS OF SPRING CONTINUOUS DAYLIGHT—SOCIAL LIFE IN GIZHIGA—A CURIOUS SICKNESS—SUMMER DAYS AND NIGHTS—NEWS FROM AMERICA
LAST WORK OF THE WINTER—BIRDS AND FLOWERS OF SPRING CONTINUOUS DAYLIGHT—SOCIAL LIFE IN GIZHIGA—A CURIOUS SICKNESS—SUMMER DAYS AND NIGHTS—NEWS FROM AMERICA
The months of April and May, owing to the great length of the days and the comparative mildness of the weather, are the most favourable months in north-eastern Siberia for outdoor work and travel; and as the Company's vessels could not be expected to arrive at Gizhiga before the early part of June, Major Abaza determined to make the most of the intervening time. As soon as he had recovered a little, therefore, from the fatigue of his journey, he started with Bush, Macrae, and the Russian governo
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DULL LIFE—ARCTIC MOSQUITOES—WAITING FOR SUPPLIES—SHIPS SIGNALLED—BARK "CLARA BELL"—RUSSIAN CORVETTE "VARAG"
DULL LIFE—ARCTIC MOSQUITOES—WAITING FOR SUPPLIES—SHIPS SIGNALLED—BARK "CLARA BELL"—RUSSIAN CORVETTE "VARAG"
After the departure of the Jackson , we began to look forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of our own vessels and the termination of our long imprisonment at Gizhiga. Eight months of nomadic camp life had given us a taste for adventure and excitement which nothing but constant travel could gratify, and as soon as the first novelty of idleness wore off we began to tire of our compulsory inactivity, and became impatient for work. We had exhausted all the amusements of Gizhiga, read all t
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ARRIVAL OF BARK "PALMETTO"—DRIVEN ASHORE BY GALE—DISCHARGING CARGO UNDER DIFFICULTIES—NEGRO CREW MUTINIES—LONELY TRIP TO ANADYRSK—STUPID KORAKS—EXPLOSIVE PROVISIONS
ARRIVAL OF BARK "PALMETTO"—DRIVEN ASHORE BY GALE—DISCHARGING CARGO UNDER DIFFICULTIES—NEGRO CREW MUTINIES—LONELY TRIP TO ANADYRSK—STUPID KORAKS—EXPLOSIVE PROVISIONS
The brief excitement produced by the arrival of the Varag and the Clara Bell was succeeded by another long, dreary month of waiting, during which we lived as before in lonely discomfort at the mouth of the Gizhiga River. Week after week passed away without bringing any tidings from the missing ships, and at last the brief northern summer closed, snow appeared upon the mountains, and heavy long-continued storms announced the speedy approach of another winter. More than three months had elapsed si
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A MEETING IN THE NIGHT—HARDSHIPS OF BUSH'S PARTY—SIBERIAN FAMINES—FISH SAVINGS BANKS—WORK IN THE NORTHERN DISTRICT—STARVING POLE CUTTERS—A JOURNEY TO YAMSK
A MEETING IN THE NIGHT—HARDSHIPS OF BUSH'S PARTY—SIBERIAN FAMINES—FISH SAVINGS BANKS—WORK IN THE NORTHERN DISTRICT—STARVING POLE CUTTERS—A JOURNEY TO YAMSK
Availing ourselves of the road which had been broken by the sledges of the priest, we made more rapid progress toward Anadyrsk than I had anticipated, and on November 22d we camped at the foot of a range of low mountains known as the "Russki Krebet," only thirty versts south of the settlement. With the hope of reaching our destination before the next morning, we had intended to travel all night; but a storm sprang up most inopportunely just before dark and prevented us from getting over the pass
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YURT ON THE TOPOLOFKA—THE VALLEY OF TEMPESTS—RIVER OF THE LOST—STORM BOUND—ESCAPE BY THE ICE-FOOT—A SLEEPLESS NIGHT—LEET REPORTED DEAD—YAMSK AT LAST
YURT ON THE TOPOLOFKA—THE VALLEY OF TEMPESTS—RIVER OF THE LOST—STORM BOUND—ESCAPE BY THE ICE-FOOT—A SLEEPLESS NIGHT—LEET REPORTED DEAD—YAMSK AT LAST
"Kennan! Oh, Kennan! Turn out! It's day light!" A sleepy grunt and a still more drowsy "Is it?" from the pile of furs lying on the rough plank floor betrayed no very lively interest on the part of the prostrate figure in the fact announced, while the heavy, long-drawn breathing which soon succeeded this momentary interruption proved that more active measures must be taken to recall him from the land of dreams. "I say! Kennan! Wake up! Breakfast has been ready this half-hour." The magic word "bre
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BRIGHT ANTICIPATIONS—A WHALE-SHIP SIGNALLED—THE BARK SEA BREEZE—NEWS FROM THE ATLANTIC CABLE—REPORTED ABANDONMENT OF THE OVERLAND LINE
BRIGHT ANTICIPATIONS—A WHALE-SHIP SIGNALLED—THE BARK SEA BREEZE—NEWS FROM THE ATLANTIC CABLE—REPORTED ABANDONMENT OF THE OVERLAND LINE
When, in the latter part of March, Major Abaza returned to Yakutsk to complete the organisation and equipment of our Yakut labourers, and I to Gizhiga to await once more the arrival of vessels from America, the future of the Russian-American Telegraph Company looked much brighter. We had explored and located the whole route of the line, from the Amur River to Bering Sea; we had half a dozen working-parties in the field, and expected to reinforce them soon with six or eight hundred hardy native l
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OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION OF THE BAD NEWS—THE ENTERPRISE ABANDONED—A VOYAGE TO OKHOTSK—THE AURORA OF THE SEA
OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION OF THE BAD NEWS—THE ENTERPRISE ABANDONED—A VOYAGE TO OKHOTSK—THE AURORA OF THE SEA
On the 15th of July, the Company's bark Onward (which should have been named Backward ) arrived at Gizhiga with orders to sell all of our stores that were salable; use the proceeds in the payment of our debts; discharge our native labourers; gather up our men, and return to the United States. The Atlantic cable had proved to be a complete success, and our Company, after sinking about $3,000,000 in the attempt to build an overland line from America to Europe, had finally decided to put up with it
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CHAPTER XXXVIII
CHAPTER XXXVIII
CLOSING UP THE BUSINESS—A BARGAIN SALE—TELEGRAPH TEACUPS REDUCED—CHEAP SHOVELS FOR GRAVE DIGGING—WIRE FISH NETS AT A SACRIFICE—OUR NARROWEST ESCAPE—BLOWN OUT TO SEA—SAVED BY THE " Onward " We reached Okhotsk about the 1st of August, and after seeing the Major off for St. Petersburg, I sailed again in the Onward and spent most of the next month in cruising along the coast, picking up our scattered working-parties, and getting on board such stores and material as happened to be accessible and were
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START FOR ST. PETERSBURG ROUTE TO YAKUTSK—A TUNGUSE ENCAMPMENT— CROSSING THE STANAVOI MOUNTAINS—SEVERE COLD—FIRE-LIGHTED SMOKE PILLARS—ARRIVAL IN YAKUTSK
START FOR ST. PETERSBURG ROUTE TO YAKUTSK—A TUNGUSE ENCAMPMENT— CROSSING THE STANAVOI MOUNTAINS—SEVERE COLD—FIRE-LIGHTED SMOKE PILLARS—ARRIVAL IN YAKUTSK
When we reached Okhotsk, about the middle of September, I found a letter from Major Abaza, brought by special courier from Yakutsk, directing me to come to St. Petersburg by the first winter road. The Onward sailed for San Francisco at once, carrying back to home and civilisation all of our employees except four, viz., Price, Schwartz, Malchanski, and myself. Price intended to accompany me to St. Petersburg, while Schwartz and Malchanski, who were Russians, decided to go with us as far as Irkuts
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THE GREATEST HORSE-EXPRESS SERVICE IN THE WORLD—EQUIPMENT FOR THE ROAD—A SIBERIAN "SEND-OFF"—POST TRAVEL ON THE ICE—BROKEN SLEEP—DRIVING INTO AN AIR-HOLE—REPAIRING DAMAGES—FIRST SIGHT OF IRKUTSK
THE GREATEST HORSE-EXPRESS SERVICE IN THE WORLD—EQUIPMENT FOR THE ROAD—A SIBERIAN "SEND-OFF"—POST TRAVEL ON THE ICE—BROKEN SLEEP—DRIVING INTO AN AIR-HOLE—REPAIRING DAMAGES—FIRST SIGHT OF IRKUTSK
We remained in Yakutsk only four days—just long enough to make the necessary preparations for a continuous sleigh-ride of five thousand one hundred and fourteen miles to the nearest railway in European Russia. The Imperial Russian Post, by which we purposed to travel from Yakutsk to Nizhni Novgorod, was, at that time, the longest and best organised horse-express service in the world. It employed 3000 or 4000 drivers, with twice as many telegas, tarantases and sleighs, and kept in readiness for i
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A PLUNGE INTO CIVILISATION—THE NOBLES' BALL—SHOCKING LANGUAGE— SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLISH—THE GREAT SIBERIAN ROAD—PASSING TEA CARAVANS—RAPID TRAVEL—FIFTY-SEVEN HUNDRED MILES IN ELEVEN WEEKS—ARRIVAL IN ST. PETERSBURG
A PLUNGE INTO CIVILISATION—THE NOBLES' BALL—SHOCKING LANGUAGE— SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLISH—THE GREAT SIBERIAN ROAD—PASSING TEA CARAVANS—RAPID TRAVEL—FIFTY-SEVEN HUNDRED MILES IN ELEVEN WEEKS—ARRIVAL IN ST. PETERSBURG
At Irkutsk, we plunged suddenly from a semi-barbaric environment into an environment of high civilisation and culture; and our attempts to adjust ourselves to the new and unfamiliar conditions were attended, at first, with not a little embarrassment and discomfort. As we were among the first Americans who had been seen in that Far Eastern capital, and were officers, moreover, of a company with which the Russian Government itself had been in partnership, we were not only treated with distinguishe
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