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FROM PARIS TO PEKIN OVER SIBERIAN SNOWS.
FROM PARIS TO PEKIN OVER SIBERIAN SNOWS.
THE MONASTERY OF TROITSA. FROM PARIS TO PEKIN OVER SIBERIAN SNOWS . A NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY BY SLEDGE OVER THE SNOWS OF EUROPEAN RUSSIA AND SIBERIA, BY CARAVAN THROUGH MONGOLIA, ACROSS THE GOBI DESERT AND THE GREAT WALL, AND BY MULE PALANQUIN THROUGH CHINA TO PEKIN. BY VICTOR MEIGNAN, EDITED FROM THE FRENCH BY WILLIAM CONN. With supplementary notes not contained in the original edition. WITH A MAP AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS FROM SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR AND OTHERS. LONDON: W. SWAN SONNENSCHEIN AN
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PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION.
PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION.
Embarrassed readers, who delight in books of travel, whether for the recreation or the useful information they afford, are not relieved of their difficulty when the title of the work, instead of indicating the nature of the subject, only presents an enigma for them to solve. How, for instance, is the reader to gauge the nature of the contents of “Voyage en Zigzag?” It might mean the itinerary of some crooked course among the Alps, or, perhaps, the log-book of a yacht chopping about the Channel,
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CHAPTER I. FROM PARIS TO ST. PETERSBURG.
CHAPTER I. FROM PARIS TO ST. PETERSBURG.
En route by rail—Berlin—Annoyances at the Russian Custom House—First aspect of European Russia—An evening on the banks of the Neva. When I had quite made up my mind to pass my winter in Siberia and to proceed in the following spring to Pekin by Mongolia and the Desert of Gobi, my friends, hearing of my project, were incredulous of the steadfastness of my resolution; they shrugged their shoulders, quivering, perhaps at the prospect of frost-nipped limbs, and wondered what could induce me to quit
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CHAPTER II. ST. PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW.
CHAPTER II. ST. PETERSBURG TO MOSCOW.
Letters of recommendation for Siberia—M. Pfaffius, frontier commissary at Kiachta—Russian music—Arrival at Moscow. During my sojourn at St. Petersburg, I went of course, and more than once, to see the curiosities with which the city is filled, but it was necessary to remember that I had set out for a much longer journey, and that my chief occupation at St. Petersburg was to search for a compagnon de voyage . With this object, I availed myself of all the letters of recommendation I had obtained i
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CHAPTER III. MOSCOW—NIJNI-NOVGOROD.
CHAPTER III. MOSCOW—NIJNI-NOVGOROD.
The Kremlin—Equipage and visits of the Virgin of Inverski—Origin of Christianity in Russia—A few words about Troïtsa—A travelling companion—Purchase of furs—Passage of the Oka in a sledge—Feeling of terror on first travelling in a sledge over a frozen river. I cannot better compare the disposition of the streets of Moscow than with that of the series of concentric threads in a cobweb. Straight streets parting from the Kremlin, as a common centre, intersect all the circular arteries, in such a wa
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CHAPTER IV. FROM NIJNI-NOVGOROD TO KAZAN.
CHAPTER IV. FROM NIJNI-NOVGOROD TO KAZAN.
The Volga in winter—Varieties of podarojnaia—What is necessary for a long sledge journey—Departure from Nijni—Posting relays—A momentary thaw—The snow—Arrival at Kazan. Hardly had I arrived at Novgorod, when I wished to begin my journey in a sledge as soon as possible. Thus man is attracted towards unknown adventures, even should he feel he is doomed to become, in consequence of them, a sufferer. I went at once to the governor of the province, in order that he might afford me every facility for
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CHAPTER V. KAZAN—JOURNEY TO PERM.
CHAPTER V. KAZAN—JOURNEY TO PERM.
The Virgin of Kazan—Russian manner of expressing disapproval—Dining with a grandee—His description of the enfranchisement of the serfs—The Tartars—Journey in a sledge—Caravan of exiles—The Votiaks—Aspect of European Russia. The city of Kazan is not situated on the banks of the Volga. It stands at the distance of at least half a mile from the left bank of this river. The day after we arrived here, Constantine introduced me to one of his old college companions, a young man who had just finished hi
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CHAPTER VI. PERM—THE ROAD TO CATHERINEBURG.
CHAPTER VI. PERM—THE ROAD TO CATHERINEBURG.
Hotel accommodation in Siberia—A councillor—Opinions and examples of Russian administration—National music—The passion for aggrandizement of territory—Entry into Asia. Though Perm is still within the limits of Europe, it has quite the aspect of a Siberian city: the houses are constructed of wood, without upper stories, and disposed without regularity with regard to one another. Its position reminds one a little of that of Nijni-Novgorod. Overlooking the Kama from the summit of a hill, Perm comma
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CHAPTER VII. OUR PARTY ON THE ROAD TO TUMEN.
CHAPTER VII. OUR PARTY ON THE ROAD TO TUMEN.
Trade and manufactures at Catherineburg—Carolling cherubs—Christmas at Kamechlof—Grand gala at a posting stage—Tumen—Its situation—Its gipsies—Fruit preserved in ice. After we had been journeying nine or ten hours in Asia, we arrived at Catherineburg. This city should serve as an example to many other Russian cities. Its inhabitants are very industrious, and know how to turn the resources of their land to account. They have iron foundries and many other metal works. They sculpture artistically c
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CHAPTER VIII. A PERILOUS NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE STEPPE OF OMSK.
CHAPTER VIII. A PERILOUS NIGHT ADVENTURE ON THE STEPPE OF OMSK.
An ostentatious Siberian custom—The steppe—The cemeteries—Omsk—Its situation—Its society—The emancipation of the serfs related by a citizen—M. Kroupinikof—Visit to an encampment of Kirghiz—Masquerade at Omsk. We left Tumen about eight o’clock in the morning. Constantine, thoroughly familiar with Siberian customs, had put into the sledge several bottles of champagne, to provide for what was about to take place. The precaution was good, but the supply, alas! insufficient. To open a bottle of champ
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CHAPTER IX. THE COLD ON THE WAY TO TOMSK.
CHAPTER IX. THE COLD ON THE WAY TO TOMSK.
The intense cold—Its inconveniences—The fine effects of light at a very low temperature—The baptismal fête of Christ on the Obi—Tomsk—Its commerce—An evening on the banks of the Tom. I left Omsk on the 17th of January at one in the afternoon. This day was intensely cold; the thermometer indicated almost fifty degrees! I could hardly open my bachelique when I wished to do so, in order to admire the fine effects of light that invariably accompany so low a temperature. The snow, through some optica
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CHAPTER X. THE GOVERNMENT OF YENISSEISK AND KRASNOIARSK.
CHAPTER X. THE GOVERNMENT OF YENISSEISK AND KRASNOIARSK.
Wretched aspect of the villages of this province—The country at last becomes hilly—The night watchers at Krasnoiarsk—M. Lovatine’s three collections—A Polish exile’s ball. I took my departure from Tomsk on the 26th of January. The appearance of the road at first did not differ materially from the one I had recently passed over. In the villages, however, there was a great difference. Certain details showed the absence of civilization and industry of any kind. The poor inhabitants, instead of admi
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CHAPTER XI. KRASNOIARSK TO IRKUTSK.
CHAPTER XI. KRASNOIARSK TO IRKUTSK.
Social position and education of the country people and citizens—Uselessness of Siberian forests—Journey to Irkutsk—A pack of wolves—Cleanliness of the villages—Congelation of the Angara—The government of Irkutsk—The college—The prison—The fire brigade. We started along the banks of the Yenissei, and, on our way, observed some idlers amusing themselves by line-fishing. Their process is rather ingenious: they break a hole through the thickness of the ice, and down this aperture they drop one end
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CHAPTER XII. IRKUTSK.
CHAPTER XII. IRKUTSK.
The gold miners—Their luxury; their wealth; their wives—A few words about the clergy, and the code of religion—The Polish exiles—Travelling maniacs—A dinner en famille . I have spoken of the gold-seekers of Eastern Siberia, and given an instance of their prodigality in the wonderful cigar ash receptacle of M. Kousnietzof. The miners of Irkutsk are still more extravagant in their fancies, favoured by their greater wealth. But it is not every gold-seeker that makes his fortune; many even ruin them
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CHAPTER XIII. ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE BY A POLISH EXILE.
CHAPTER XIII. ATTEMPT AT ESCAPE BY A POLISH EXILE.
Why the Polish exiles cannot escape—Narrative of a attempt by M. Bohdanovitch—Encounter with a bear—Sanitary arrangements in Siberia—Wolf hunts—A blue fox—Different values of furs—A few words on the passion for displaying riches. After the description I have just given of the mode of life of M. Schlenker, the question may occur to the reader why the Poles banished in Siberia do not avail themselves of the quasi-liberty they enjoy at present to effect their escape. They could not, it is true, ret
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CHAPTER XIV. IRKUTSK TO LAKE BAIKAL.
CHAPTER XIV. IRKUTSK TO LAKE BAIKAL.
The natives—The Olkhonese—Shamanism—The Buriats—The Tungus—The Samoyeds—The Carnival at Irkutsk—Pablo—Adieu to Constantine—Another perilous night on the ice of Lake Baikal. Among other races, natives of the island of Olkhon are occasionally met with in the streets of Irkutsk. The shores of Lake Baikal, before the Russian conquest, had served, from the most remote times, as a place of banishment for the Chinese. They called this country, in their figurative language, the land of long nights. Some
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CHAPTER XV. LAKE BAIKAL TO KIACHTA
CHAPTER XV. LAKE BAIKAL TO KIACHTA
Observations on Eastern Siberia and its inhabitants—Their dream of Independence—Motives that might contribute to independence—Example of the Chinese—The Yakuts and the inhabitants of Kamtchatka. While breakfasting the following morning at Verchni-Oudinsk, I overheard a singular conversation between three men, who were probably natives of this part, for they declared themselves to be more attached to Eastern Siberia than to the Russian Empire; and these reminded me of the people of Vannes or St.
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CHAPTER XVI. KIACHTA TO MAIMATCHIN.
CHAPTER XVI. KIACHTA TO MAIMATCHIN.
The tarantass—Tea merchants—Their competition—The Sienzy—Aspect of Maimatchin—A dinner at the Chinese Governor’s—Preparations for crossing the Gobi desert. We found quite a change in the state of the road after leaving Verchni-Oudinsk. The sledge, in the course of a few hours, being no longer supported with a smooth thick layer of snow, its skates occasionally came in contact with the earth below, and this increasing the friction, considerably retarded our progress. This at last produced so much
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CHAPTER XVII. MAIMATCHIN TO URGA.
CHAPTER XVII. MAIMATCHIN TO URGA.
First Stage in Mongolia—The Mongols—Their tents; their life—How they steer their way in the desert—The Caravan—A Sacrilege—The Russian Consul at Urga—The Koutoukta. We felt the cold becoming rather cutting at the fall of night, and we observed the thermometer already several degrees below zero. We therefore resolved to alight at a Mongolian encampment, that we might be able to warm ourselves at the family fire. Besides, M. Marine, like a true Russian, was longing for a cup of tea, and all the ut
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CHAPTER XVIII. URGA AND THE ENTRY INTO THE DESERT OF GOBI.
CHAPTER XVIII. URGA AND THE ENTRY INTO THE DESERT OF GOBI.
Urga—Mongol religion—Praying wheels—Burial ceremonies—The Holy Mountain—My travelling companions in the desert—Departure from Urga—First halt—A Mongolian repast—Easter Eve. The thought of death and a future life hovers constantly over this mournful city, and lugubrious religious ceremonies constitute the principal occupation of its fanatical inhabitants. Banners inscribed with prayers are all around the palings surrounding their tents, everywhere fluttering in the breeze; but, as if these were i
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CHAPTER XIX. CARAVAN ACROSS THE DESERT OF GOBI.
CHAPTER XIX. CARAVAN ACROSS THE DESERT OF GOBI.
A Mongolian Prince and his Court—Prayer turning—Our life in the desert—The sandy plain—Want of water—Lunar mirage—Three executions—A traveller astray in the desert—Arrival at Kalkann and the Great Wall of China. The following morning was ushered in with a wind so violent that no one attempted to emerge from his shelter, and, singular enough, this Easter day, which ought to have been passed in rejoicing, disappeared without anyone having sought the society of his fellow travellers. The weather th
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CHAPTER XX. FROM THE GREAT WALL TO TCHAH-TAO.
CHAPTER XX. FROM THE GREAT WALL TO TCHAH-TAO.
First view of China proper—Last Russian hospitality—The Palankeen—The streets of Kalkann—Travelling along the Great Wall—The Secret Societies—Chinese Art—How order is maintained—Origin of the tress—How the titles of Chinese nobility become extinct. We were hospitably received in a Chinese house belonging to a Russian, a friend of M. Schévélof. This house was charmingly situated out of the town, on the other side of the brook I have just mentioned, and, consequently, in view of the mountain we ha
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CHAPTER XXI. TCHAH-TAO TO PEKIN.
CHAPTER XXI. TCHAH-TAO TO PEKIN.
An exciting incident—The Pass of Nang-kao—Picturesqueness of the gorge—A young married couple—The levy of taxes—Toun-cheh-ouh—The last solitude—Entry into Pekin—Arrival at the Legation. After having travelled over fifty lies since leaving Hrouaé-lach-sien, we arrived at Tchah-tao. This village is picturesquely situated at the foot of a little mountain that carries the third wall—here a brick wall. As we arrived rather early, and our inn was near the gate of the town, we went to take a walk along
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CHAPTER XXII. PEKIN—DEPARTURE.
CHAPTER XXII. PEKIN—DEPARTURE.
The Marble Bridge—The Tartar City—Objects of Art—Japanese lacquering—Interments—The Observatory—The Imperial Palace—The Temples—The four harvests—Kinds of tea—Departure from Pekin—Tien-tsin—The sea at last. The following day we went first to pay our respects to Monseigneur de Laplace, the bishop of Pekin, who was then residing at the Mission of the Pères Lazaristes. To get there we had to go over the marble bridge, which is one of the local wonders. This bridge rises in a saddle-back over a pond
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Note 1, Chap. II., Page 22.
Note 1, Chap. II., Page 22.
Whenever the degree of temperature is mentioned in the course of this narrative, it is according to the Centigrade scale , although it is calculated by the Réaumur thermometer, and no other, in Russia. 5° Centigrade are equal to 9° Fahrenheit: but since the freezing point in the Centigrade thermometer is 0, and in the Fahrenheit 32°, in converting one scale into the other, care must be taken to add or deduct this difference in calculating above or below freezing point. It will therefore be seen
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Note 2, Chap. VII., Page 127.
Note 2, Chap. VII., Page 127.
Siberia, it appears, judging from an account of a correspondent of the Times at Tumen, published November 20th, 1883, is quite un pays de cocagne , so far as provisions are concerned, sparkling champagne of course excepted. The prices of some articles of food at Tumen are given as follows: “Geese in autumn cost fivepence a pair, and are frozen in numbers to be sent west to Russia and east to Irkutsk; grouse in summer, being a delicacy, cost threepence a pair, and good fish, such as sterlet and n
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Note 3, Chap. IX., Page 165.
Note 3, Chap. IX., Page 165.
Some interesting experiments on seeds and plants have recently been made by a Norwegian savant , Professor Schubeler, with the view of demonstrating the beneficial influence of prolonged sunlight on vegetation during the long summer days of the north. Some of these experiments were as follows: dwarf beans taken from Christiania to Drontheim, being less than 4° further north, gained more than 60 per cent. in weight; thyme brought from Lyons and planted at Drontheim gained 71 per cent. It appears
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Note 4, Chap. XI., Page 188.
Note 4, Chap. XI., Page 188.
It does not appear, however, that wolves are always so peaceful and harmless. From a police report it seems that, in 1875, 161 persons, and domestic animals to the value of £2,500,000, were killed by wolves in European Russia: their depredations in Siberia could not probably be easily calculated. In 1882 it is reported that 278 human beings were killed by wolves in British India.—W. C....
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Note 5, Chap. XII., Page 213.
Note 5, Chap. XII., Page 213.
The following are a few clauses from the Russian penal code that came into operation on the 1st of May, 1846, and will show how far religious intolerance is carried in Russia. Certain clauses relating to corporal punishments, the abrogation of privileges, and the right of suzerainty are omitted, because the decree emancipating the serfs renders them null and void. “Sec. 196.—He who abandons the orthodox faith for any other creed, Christian even, is to be handed over to the ecclesiastical authori
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Note 6, Chap. XIII., Page 225.
Note 6, Chap. XIII., Page 225.
The exiled Poles, at present even, can only carry offensive weapons with the permission of the military governor....
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Note 7, Chap. XIII., Page 226.
Note 7, Chap. XIII., Page 226.
In Siberia, poor people, who travel enormous distances afoot, in order to pray at a tomb or the image of a saint, are often met with. It is not a rare occurrence for peasants to attempt to undertake a journey thus as far as Jerusalem. There are many, indeed, that abandon their project on the way from sheer fatigue, but not from want of courage. A few are sometimes known to accomplish even this formidable undertaking....
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Note 8, Chap. XIII., Page 229.
Note 8, Chap. XIII., Page 229.
Many Siberian animals that are white during winter, resume, in the summer, furs of a colour which we habitually see here. The ermine is a changeable fur, and becomes yellow during the warm season. A summer ermine is almost worthless in the eyes of a connoisseur.— The Author. These, no doubt, are instances of the protective colours observed by Darwin and Mr. Wallace. “A common Indian and Sumatran butterfly ( Kallima ) disappears like magic when it settles in a bush; for it hides its head and ante
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Note 9, Chap. XIII., Page 231.
Note 9, Chap. XIII., Page 231.
This is a small fruit resembling that of the dog rose. A beverage is made from it by infusing the berries for a fortnight in some brandy with sugar, which is not disagreeable to the palate....
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Note 10, Chap. XIII., Page 240.
Note 10, Chap. XIII., Page 240.
In England, in the time of Henry VIII., Sable was probably adopted by wealthy people as a distinctive mark of their social position; otherwise, why should it have become an object of legislation and have been prohibited by the Statute of Apparel (24 Hen. VIII.) to be worn by any under the degree of an earl? It will, no doubt, be seen from this diverse and often singularly-extravagant appreciation of furs in Russia—and occasionally not so much for their beauty and elegance as for their rarity and
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Note 11, Chap. XV., Page 278.
Note 11, Chap. XV., Page 278.
The author of “Chto dyelat” was Tschernishevsky, who wrote it in the Petro-Paolovsky fortress at St. Petersburg. He had written also several romances during his imprisonment, all of which he had burnt with his own hand. According to his own statement, it does not appear that he was imprisoned on account of anything he had written. In the month of December, 1883, he was living as a free convict under surveillance at Astrachan, and on the 11th of this month, had completed his long term of nearly t
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Note 12, Chap. XVI., Page 287.
Note 12, Chap. XVI., Page 287.
The reader perhaps may not know why, in mentioning the names of certain persons, their family names are preceded by two baptismal names. It is because in Russia courtesy demands that, in addressing anyone, you should add the baptismal name of his father, to which is affixed the termination ovitch . Thus Iwan Michäelovitch Nemptchinof means Iwan the son of Michael Nemptchinof. This double appellation, not merely polite, but indeed the most respectful of all, especially when the family name is not
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Note 13, Chap. XVI., Page 301.
Note 13, Chap. XVI., Page 301.
The same fact has been remarked by Blanchard ( Animaux articulés , Paris, 1846), and by Lacordaire ( Introduction à l’entomologie , tome III , page 383 )....
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Note 14, Chap. XIX., Page 347.
Note 14, Chap. XIX., Page 347.
The Desert of Gobi properly so called is a little less in extent than the Sahara; it must not be forgotten, however, that the countries bordering it, especially on the west, are actual deserts....
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Note 15, Chap. XIX., Page 350.
Note 15, Chap. XIX., Page 350.
The depressing effect on the mind of the traveller, produced by the aspect of monotonous scenery, has been noticed by M. Gabriel Charmes, in an excursion in the Auvergne ( Journal des Débats , July, 1881), who attributes the habitual lowness of spirits of the peasantry to the cheerless uniformity of certain parts of the Cantal, amid which they dwell. As some of these are said to become sorcerers from the prolonged effect, may not the gloomy character of the Mongolian religion be largely attribut
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