SIBERIA AND KAMCHATKA.
[Sidenote: 1881.]
They were talking about the Nihilists, and being exiled to Siberia. Some of the children had been at the theatre two years ago, and had seen the Exiles of Siberia, with white paper snow, and real oxen to draw the sledge.
Bertha asked, with a shudder, whether anybody ever came back to tell the story.
“Why, Bertha, Uncle Fritz himself built a telegraph across the Lake of Baikal.”
Then they all looked at Uncle Fritz. But he would not go into any detail of his Siberian adventures. It is a subject on which he is always shy. But the boys got out “The Ingham Papers,” and began looking for “Nofpo Ston” on the map.
“If you will go to the fountain of all knowledge,” said Will Withers, “that is, to Robinson Crusoe, you will have a good travelling knowledge of Siberia.”
“Siberia!” cried Alice. “It is not a year since you all said that Robinson Crusoe lived in the Oronooko.[27] I was disgraced. I thought he lived in Juan Fernandez before. And now I am told that he raised his melons under the shade of an avalanche, and that the savages were clothed in bear-skins, and skated across to his island. I am in despair.”
“My dear Alice,” said Will, who is very fond of her, “if he had never come back from the ‘great river Oronooko,’ we should never have known anything about him.”
“All the same,” the girl persisted, “he came home to England. The fact of his coming home does not prove that the book told about Siberia. Now see here,--here is dear Uncle Fritz’s table copy.”
As has been said already, Robinson Crusoe is one of seven books always at Uncle Fritz’s side. Sure enough, there was not a word about Siberia on the titlepage.
But Will was not to be defeated. “Why do you read me the titlepage to the first volume?” he said. Then he turned to the title of the second volume, “The Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.”
“You see he went to Nanquin, where your famous Capt. Cleveland could not go. A Chinese exclusiveness had not been settled on then. He went to the great city of Peking, and here he sold opium, among other things.”
“Just as he had sold slaves before,” said Alice, and she pretended to shudder. “A famous hero, indeed!”
“My dear Alice, it was the error of his time. That is what you must always say.” And the boy rapidly turned the pages. “See! ‘Robinson joins a caravan proceeding to Moscow,’ and here, ‘I could not but discover an infinite satisfaction that I was so soon arrived in a Christian country.’”
“But here,” persisted Alice, “they are burning an idol.”
“I cannot help that,” said poor Will, who was no match for her in changing his ground and hopping from point to point. “All the same, it was Siberia”; and as he turned he read in triumph, “I came to Tobolski, the capital city of Siberia, where I continued some time.”
“I should think he would,” said Uncle Fritz. “There is a very decent hotel there now. I stayed there a good while. I saw the annual gathering of the convicts before they were scattered to the villages. Tobolsk is the place where they meet.”
“Uncle Fritz, you should write your travels in Siberia. If no one has been there since poor Robinson Crusoe, and nobody but Will Withers knows that, you should make a book.”
The old gentleman smiled grimly. But he said that plenty of people had gone to Kamchatka and to Siberia also. And he sent Alice for Peter Dobell’s travels. “That’s a very good book, and you may read me to sleep by hunting up my marks in it. I read that book as I was floating down the Obi River on a timber raft.”
“I had a great deal rather read your book, Uncle Fritz,” said the girl, with admiration.
“For that, my dear child, you must wait till it is written.” So Alice began:--
A POORGA.
[Sidenote: 1812.]
We were happy on the 9th to inhale the fresh air, and leave our smoky habitation at Timlatee to pursue our journey, which now lay over a mountainous country, along the sea-coast, and almost wholly bare of timber. The morning was clear and cold, but the wind blew rather fresh from the sea, and the white clouds hurried rapidly over the blue expanse. About ten o’clock the Toyune of Govenskoy came to me and said, “We must not stop at twelve to-day, as usual, to take our luncheon, as I perceive we are going to have one of those cold poorgas, which on these plains are very violent; and we may be frozen to death, should we not chance to meet with the Reindeer Karaikees. For a long distance,” added he, “there is no house, or hut, or any sort of shelter: therefore order your people to push on, and keep close together; for if the Karaikees are here, they will be on the middle of the moor, but yet a considerable distance from us.”
Knowing how well the natives of that country understand the weather, although I could see nothing that indicated a storm, I gave orders as he directed, and he led the way with his own dogs. These, he said, were his hunting dogs, and could be relied on. We went on quite well, and briskly, until a little before twelve o’clock, when, all of a sudden, the wind began to blow with great violence, and, drifting the snow in quantities, thickened the atmosphere so that we could not see a yard before us. For the first part of our progress the sky above our heads was clear; but this, after a while, became covered with black clouds, and a kind of sharp sleet descended, which was borne on the wind so violently that we could no longer keep our faces to windward, and were obliged to stop. As we had lost our way from the commencement, the Toyune came to me to hold a consultation as to what was to be done. I told him he was an inhabitant of the country, and must be the better judge, and I should leave it to him to decide. He said, “As it is impossible to make a fire, if we remain here and the poorga continues all night, we shall all be frozen to death. We had, therefore, better keep moving; but don’t you give a dram to any one till I tell you; for watky is not good at such a time. I have great confidence in my dogs, and if there is a reindeer on the plain they will find him.”
After this speech he pushed on his dogs to take what road they liked, first giving orders to the party to watch each other strictly and not to separate on any account. To our surprise the dogs, instead of taking what we imagined to be the road, turned off from the sea and brought the wind nearly on our backs. Although this alarmed many, who thought they were going wrong, they found it much more comfortable than to go against the sharp sleet which tore the skin from their faces. We continued travelling in this manner for upwards of two hours. The poorga raged with redoubled fury; the clouds of sleet rolled like a dark smoke over the moor, and we were all so benumbed with cold that our teeth chattered in our heads. The sleet, driven with such violence, had got into our clothes, and penetrated even under our parkas, and into our baggage, wherever there was the smallest crevice.
At length the Toyune’s dogs began to snuff the air, bark loudly, and set out at full speed. It was like a shock of electricity. The rest of the dogs followed this example, and strained every nerve to keep pace with them. Our hearts now beat high, for we were sure the dogs smelt the reindeer, and this emotion had already infused a warmth through our veins, as we anticipated the happiness of finding shelter from a dreadful storm that threatened us with death. In about ten minutes more we had the ineffable pleasure of finding ourselves near a large Karaikee jourta, where we saw a fine fire blazing. The Karaikees had all run out with their clubs and spears to defend their reindeer from the dogs, which our drivers, benumbed as they were, could hardly keep from running on the herd that surrounded the jourta. The Karaikees, who were to leeward of us, had heard the dogs for some time, and, anticipating our arrival, had already killed a fine fat buck, and the women were skinning him when we arrived.
Our host was a fine hospitable old man, who possessed a herd of nearly three hundred sleek reindeer, and he seemed overjoyed to have us for guests. He made me sit down on some nice warm bear-skins spread near the fire, which was in the centre of the jourta. Behind me was a place apart, well hung and lined with deer-skins, for me to sleep on.
My interpreter, who was of Karaikee origin, found out at last that the host was a relation of his. This circumstance occasioned much joy, and was the cause of the death of another fine buck to regale his relation. The Toyune of Evashka being in possession of an order from government to collect the tax and tribute from the Reindeer Karaikees in that quarter, he made the interpreter explain his powers to the other Toyune, and ask him if he was prepared to pay them. He replied that he would pay the tribute with great cheerfulness, but he could not pay the tax in money, because he had none, nor did he know how to get it. “I wish,” said he to me, “as you are going to St. Petersburg you would tell the Emperor that the Reindeer Karaikees, though a wild people, are good loyal subjects, and are always ready to pay the tribute in furs, although they cannot pay him money. Our habits of life,” continued he, “are such that we never buy or sell anything for money; how then can he expect us to find it? When I want tobacco, knives, kettles, needles, or watky, I buy them with fox, sable, and deer skins, and I know nothing farther of trade; besides, I have heard that amongst you who trade for money the effect often spoils the heart and creates bad blood between man and man. I am glad, therefore, there is so little money amongst our Karaikees, who are warm-tempered.” After having made this speech, which was delivered in a serious tone, he ordered a bundle of fox and sable skins to be brought, and, throwing them at the feet of the Toyune, “There,” said he, “is our tribute. Let the interpreter write me a paper and do you sign it to say you have received it.”
This request being complied with, and the afternoon being very fine and serene, we deemed it best to resist the kind invitation of the chief to pass the night with him, and proceeded on our journey. After leaving Tolbachik, the roads were good, and we soon arrived at Oushkee. Here the inhabitants were few, and those few miserable. I therefore distributed some presents amongst them which I had brought for that purpose. My distribution was nearly finished when I observed a lad whose features I recognized, and I immediately asked him where he belonged. He said, “I am from the Tigil coast, and have been sent here to assist travellers, and I helped to row you down the river last summer. As I have been always very busy I have been but once at the chase; but I killed a sable, and I kept it on purpose to repay your kindness for the knife and flints you gave me.” Seeing that this poor fellow was misery personified, not a shirt on his back, and the skin dress he had on all in tatters, I refused to accept his offer. He burst into tears and was about to leave the room when I made him return, and took his sable from him in return for what I had ordered to be given him, at which he seemed quite happy.
“Look further on,” said Uncle Fritz. “Find that which I have marked ‘A Gentle Hint.’ It tells how they cut short visits when the stores run low.”
And Hugh read first:--
A GENTLE HINT.
The Kamtchadales are not only grateful for favors, but they think it absolutely necessary to make some return for a present, and are highly offended if it is refused. One of my Chinese servants, who was a very good-hearted fellow, was so affected at the circumstance I have told and the miserable appearance of the boy, that he went and brought one of his blue Nankin shirts and made him a present of it.
All the Kamtchadales I met with were Christians of the Greek persuasion, and appeared attentive to their devotions. Their hospitality is excessive, and it is carried to an extreme amongst themselves that becomes ridiculous. They pay one another visits which last for a month or six weeks, until the generous host, finding his stock of provisions exhausted, is forced to give a hint to his guest to take his departure. This is managed by presenting to him at dinner a dish called _tolkootha_, a kind of olio, or hodge-podge, composed of a number of meats, fish, and vegetables, all mixed together, and very difficult to prepare. It is the _dernier ressort_ of the master of the house, and the moment this dish is served up the guests take the hint and leave him the following day without feeling in the least dissatisfied.
The first thing a traveller must do, on arriving at a Kamtchadale house, is to treat the family with tea, of which they are excessively fond. I once saw a Kamtchadale drink eleven half-pint bowls of tea at a sitting, and he declared he could have completed the dozen had there been water enough in the kettle. They speak very slowly, with rather an effeminate voice, making use of the simplest language, but almost always with good sense. When they do not wish to come to the point directly they convey their meaning by some curious allegory, having relation to bears, dogs, fishing, and hunting.
PRINCE ZACHAR.
A circumstance occurred whilst we were at Govenskoy that inspired me with respect for the greatness of soul, the courage, and the _sang-froid_ exhibited by my friend, the Prince Zachar, and revealed to me at once the cause of the great influence he possessed over the Karaikees of the coast. My Klutchee Kyoorchiks begged of me to give them some watky to buy reindeer, silk, parkas, and boots, and one of the prince’s men, who had drunk too much of it, became quite furious. With a large knife in his hand he sought the prince, crying out that he was an unjust man, and he would stab him. The other Karaikees tried in vain to stop him until he had got quite near to the prince’s dwelling, when he called with all his force, “Come out, Zachar, if you dare! I am prepared to kill you!” Zachar, who was quietly drinking tea with me, heard all of a sudden this extraordinary summons, which the interpreter immediately explained to me. The prince put down his cup of tea and, rising slowly from his seat, went out of the jourta. I followed him closely, with a pair of loaded pistols, which I always kept ready in case of necessity. When he perceived that I followed him he desired the interpreter would tell me not to interfere, as he would very soon settle the affair himself. During this time the drunken Karaikee foamed with rage and was trying to extricate himself from the crowd that surrounded him. Zachar, who had already thrown off his parka, now unbuttoned his shirt, exposed his breast, and ordering the crowd to stand aside, advanced boldly up to the Karaikee, and then, with a terrible voice and an undaunted countenance, he said to him, “Here is the breast of your prince; strike at it if you dare!” The Karaikee seemed thunderstruck; he raised his hand, but was afraid to strike, and the knife fell to the ground. “Coward,” said Zachar, “you have saved your life, for if you had aimed a blow at me I would have thrown you down at the same instant, and your own knife should have drawn your heart’s blood.” He then ordered his men to confine him till he should be sober, and returned with me to finish his tea.
THE REINDEER.
The reindeer may fairly be called the ox of these countries, and not the horse, as some people have called him. He does not possess either the noble temper or the docility of the latter animal. When the snow is deep and the roads are difficult, if the reindeer be pressed to exert himself, he becomes restive and stubborn, and neither beating nor coaxing will move him. He will lie down and remain in one spot for several hours, until hunger presses him forward; and if, at the second attempt, he is again embarrassed, he will lie down and perish in the snow for want of food.
A Karaikee related to me the story of a keeper whose herd was dispersed in that way, but who, by very great exertions, after four or five days, collected them together again. However, he found he had wandered far beyond his usual haunts, and lost his way, so that he remained and roamed about with his herd nearly two years before he had the good fortune to meet with any of the Reindeer Karaikees.
We had now arrived at the last Karaikee ostrog on that coast, and it became necessary to direct our course to Kammina, across the moors, for two hundred and fifty versts, where there was scarcely a forest, much less a hut, to afford us shelter from the weather, should it prove bad again.
Here I separated from my friends, the Toyune of Evashka and the Prince Zachar, with real regret, for they had behaved to me with the kindness of brothers. On parting Zachar observed to me, “You are too late in the season; but you must do the best you can. I therefore advise you, even though the distance will be greater, to follow, as much as possible, the course of the creeks and rivers. There you will find shelter should a poorga commence; but on the moors, at this late period, it is very dangerous.”
SLEEPING IN SNOW.
Early on the morning of the 19th we started again. It began to snow not long after our departure, and before mid-day the wind had increased to a storm, and my guide said we should have a regular poorga. We therefore directed our course for a small creek or branch that unites Veyvinskoia to Kammina River. We were not long before we got there, and followed its winding course, whilst its high banks defended us from the rigors of the snowstorm. After travelling in this way about an hour, we stopped to prepare our dinner, but found the wind and snow beat over the banks with such violence that we could not keep our fire burning five minutes at a time. After many attempts we persisted no longer, and contented ourselves with eating some cold boiled venison that had fortunately been prepared the day before; and very happy were we that my Chinese cook had been so provident. By the time we had finished our cold repast, we found it impossible to proceed any farther, and, drawing our sledges close under the windward bank of the creek, with the dogs in front, we passed the night on this dreary spot. A dismal night it was, for the snow and sleet beat in whirlwinds over the bank with unceasing violence; and it was impossible to hold one’s face towards the wind for an instant. Although I slept in a kibitka that I tried to close up as tightly as possible, the snow beat into the crevices; and when I first awoke I found myself completely covered, and with difficulty extricated myself. The dogs, sledges, and men were so entirely concealed that I could only discern the marks where they lay; and I beat about and trampled amongst them some time before I could rouse them.
As the latter part of the night was warmer, and the snow fell in immense quantities, or rather drifted over us, we slept very warmly and comfortably. On the 20th, the wind having abated, and the weather proving mild, we determined to set off again, first spending an hour or two in shaking the snow off our clothes, baggage, and sledges, where it was found in abundance. It was absolutely necessary to depart, for not a stick of wood, nor even a twig, could we find to make a fire; and we travelled on until near eleven o’clock in the day before we arrived where there was wood enough to boil the tea-kettle. With what pleasure and satisfaction did we swallow a warm and cheering cup of tea, that delicious beverage, far exceeding every other when one is cold and weary! Ardent spirits will warm you more quickly, but their effects are not so lasting, and occasion a stupor that makes you feel afterwards quite drowsy.
SLEIGHING IN MAY.
We got off early on the 8th, and, although the surface of the snow was still soft, I found we got forward much better than on the day before. Travellers in this country during the spring should always take advantage of the night; indeed, the sun in the day being excessively hot, shining upon you for fourteen hours, and thawing a deep snow, is sufficient to prove the advantage of travelling by night. A tedious spring day, in a high northern latitude, with a hot sun reflected from the glassy surface of an immense snow-covered plain, entirely destitute of trees, not only inflames the eyes, but creates a lassitude of the body and mind. We had now a plain to cross of about a hundred versts in length, and about twenty versts in breadth, bounded on either side by steep mountains. Here the snow, which we frequently fathomed, was often four, and never less than three orshins deep, a measurement equal to from seven to nine English feet. We got away early on the 12th of May, and took care to move briskly, the surface being frozen, and still strong enough to bear the deer. The guide directed his course towards the centre of the plain, from an idea that when the snow became soft, we should find it not so deep there as close under the mountains. However, it proved the contrary; and we were not a little alarmed at the fearful distance that lay between us and the only places where we could procure food for our deer, now scarcely able to crawl, either by driving or coaxing.
Although I beat the road myself for them, on snow-shoes, they plunged in so deeply as to be obliged to stop and lie down every ten or twelve yards, panting for breath. My Karaikee interpreter, with one of the Tongusees, drew the sledge after them; and about one o’clock in the day we were all so worn down we were obliged to rest ourselves. To add to our disappointment the nearest mountain appeared yet a considerable distance off. After a while the driver said we must continue our journey, and force the deer on in the best way we could, for if they remained twenty or thirty hours more without food, they would be too weak to proceed at all, and must perish in the snow. Indeed, I was well aware of the danger, and was prepared to walk as long as I had a sinew to support my tired limbs.
Having been every day since I left Towisk on snow-shoes, I became a practised pedestrian in this way; nor found myself inferior to the natives of the country. In fact, without snow-shoes, I should have been like a man in the middle of the ocean, who knew not how to swim, and was without even a chip to save him from drowning. It was impossible to drive through such snows, when a deer with the greatest difficulty carried a small portion of baggage, and when that oftentimes was obliged to be taken from his back to enable him to extricate himself. I had taken care also to teach my servants to walk in snow-shoes whilst in Kamtchatka.
Between six and seven in the evening I thought I perceived the last row of trees which intercepted our view of the mountains; and we pushed eagerly on to pass it. Our disappointment was excessive when we could plainly distinguish two more intersections; but again, not seeing anything beyond them, we consoled ourselves with the idea that those were certainly the last. Arriving at them, we were chagrined to find the largest stream we had yet encountered. This, however, after being completely soaked through, and our strength almost exhausted, we contrived to pass. When on the other side, there were yet some versts between us and the foot of the mountain, which the Karaikee declared he was too weak to accomplish. The Tongusee likewise complained, but said we were now so near that, if I could give him a little food of any sort to recruit his strength, we might remain on the spot where we were until the baggage-deer came up with us, while he would take his own to the mountains to pasture. I now recollected that my cook formerly kept in my sledge one of the small vessels with the deer’s feet he had boiled down. On examination I found it, together with a little salt, and we were all not a little rejoiced thereat, being at a great distance from my baggage, and having taken nothing but water all the day. As we had no bread, and but a small portion of jelly for each person, we were obliged to make up the deficiency by drinking two or three large draughts of water.
Scanty as was our repast, we were all much refreshed. I had often supped more plentifully, but certainly never with a better appetite. Immediately after, the Tongusee, whom I armed with a Spanish knife and a spear to protect him against the bears, left us, whilst the Karaikee and myself collected wood, made a large fire, and placing a quantity of bushes before it on the snow, wrapped ourselves up in our parkas and went to sleep.
Between three and four in the morning of the 13th, I was awaked by the arrival of my servants and the baggage-deer. They had followed the track we had made, without which, they said, the deer would never have been able to accomplish the distance. We now got a good breakfast, and then started again under the hottest sun I had yet experienced. Both deer and men suffered so much from the heat they could scarcely crawl, and it was eleven o’clock before we arrived at the mountain. Our deer were obliged to go to the summit before moss could be procured.
After getting over the first mountain, on looking round to examine our party, we found these two fellows had absconded with two of the reindeer that were not laden. This was a most unpleasant circumstance, as I was told that they knew the road better than any of the rest. The road proved like that before described, except that the snow was not quite so deep. Descending the mountain, we came to an open stream, narrow, deep, and rapid, and were obliged to make a bridge to take over the sledges, the deer going about a verst higher up, where there was a spot fordable. One of them had the slender remains of my stock of biscuit and my skin coverings on his back, which he contrived to shake from him into the stream; and, before we could recover them, the biscuits were all completely soaked and spoiled. Pitching our tent on a rising ground on the opposite side, I dried a dozen of them that were not broken in the sun; the rest we consumed at once, as we perceived they would not keep in that state.
A MOUNTAIN HOME.
It was my intention, on going to rest, to have awakened about ten o’clock at night in order to set out early; but the severe fatigue we had undergone the day before made me sleep soundly until after midnight. On awaking I called aloud for some time before any one came. At length one of my Chinese servants entered my tent, and told me the Tongusees were nowhere to be found! I now roused my guide and the Karaikee, when, to our grief and astonishment, we perceived these unfeeling rascals had gone off in the night, not leaving us even a single deer for food, and returning by the road they came. We were now five in number, namely, the Cossack, a Karaikee, two Chinese servants, and myself, left, with all our baggage, on one of the highest mountains in Siberia, in a wild, uninhabited country! We had already been twelve days from Towisk, and had therefore every reason to believe we were not more than three or four days’ march from some Tongusee tabboon; but, as we were all totally ignorant of the road, it was difficult to decide which way to direct our course. The Cossack, who did not deserve the name, was a perfect woman in character, more alarmed than anybody else, frightening the young Karaikee and my servants, and proposing a hundred different schemes. I would not listen to any of them, until I had weighed the matter maturely, and examined well the country about us. The first thing, however, was to see what stock of provisions we had. I found it to consist of a few pounds of reindeer meat almost spoiled, two or three pounds of rice, a small quantity of Manilla sweet chocolate, our biscuits reduced in number to twelve, about the size of a dollar each, two or three small lumps of sugar remaining, and a very small quantity indeed of salt and pepper, but fortunately a little box full of good tea. After this review of our provisions, I felt assured that, with rigid economy, we could keep our bodies and souls together for at least twelve or fifteen days. In the mean time it was highly probable I should be able to shoot something to assist in preventing us from starving. I had a map of Kamtchatka that included the shores of the Ochotsk Sea, on the Siberian side, as far as Zamsk, and, assisted by a pocket-compass, showed me on which side the sea lay. But the Cossack declared he had seen it the day before from the mountain on the opposite side of the rivulet. I therefore determined we should go together to a high peak only a few versts distant, to assure ourselves whether it was or was not the sea that he had seen.
When about to depart we looked in vain for our snow-shoes, of which it appeared those fellows had robbed us to prevent our overtaking them suddenly. About six o’clock on the morning of the 17th we left the encampment, and, although we kept in the tracks of the reindeer, we sunk above our knees at every step and suffered the severest fatigue before attaining the height from whence we expected to behold the sea. At the first view the expanse appeared to me no more than an immense extent of low ground covered with fog. The Cossack persisted to the contrary and showed me a valley on the opposite side where we could distinguish the trees and which appeared so very different from that before us that I was induced to give in to his opinion of its being the ocean. Not feeling perfectly satisfied, however, on the subject I told him we must visit, on the following morning, the ridge of mountains that surrounded us in the form of a crescent, about thirty versts in extent. This, I added, might be easily accomplished by making ourselves snow-shoes with the boards of our sledges. He seemed lost, and wavering every minute, sometimes proposing one thing and sometimes another, and at length asked that he and the Karaikee might go in search of reindeer men, while we remained on the mountain to await their return. I was obliged to put a stop to any further proposals of that kind by telling him that I was perfectly aware of his cowardice and deceit, and that, as I was ignorant of the character of the Karaikee, I should watch them both narrowly. “You see,” said I, “how I am armed, and I shall put the first man to death who attempts anything improper or disobeys my orders.” This threat had the desired effect; he became instantly more obedient. On my return to the tent I armed my Chinese servants, privately desiring them to keep a strict watch on the other two, as I had reason to believe they wished to rob us of our provisions and make their escape. At night, before I went to sleep, I collected all the provisions together, also my little axe, knife, guns, and pistols, and slept near them. The Karaikee and Cossack I placed in the middle of the tent, and my Chinese servants at each side of them.
I should have premised that previously to going to rest I visited another height, about two versts off, on the same side as that where our tent stood. Though I could not discover the sea I had the good fortune to find my snow-shoes amongst the bushes, the Tongusees having hidden them purposely.
On the 18th of May, at three o’clock in the morning, we set out on our excursion after I had armed myself with two guns, in full hopes that, as we had seen some tracks in coming up the mountain, we should have the good fortune to meet with a bear. With much labor and fatigue we contrived to climb the summit of the highest mountain of the opposite ridge. We had now an extensive view of the country around us and were most wofully disappointed in beholding the sea that we thought we had seen the day before transmuted into trees, hills, and plains! We now found ourselves immediately opposite our tent, having a steep descent to make, a rivulet of considerable size to cross in the valley, and the high mountain to ascend on which it stood. As the snow was soft and my snow-shoes large I drew them both together, and, sitting down on them, held my two guns with my left arm, the butts resting on the snow-shoes, and with a short stick in my right hand to guide myself I went down with the rapidity of lightning. The Cossack followed safely in my path.
LOST IN A WILDERNESS.
Our companions were greatly dejected on hearing that all appearance had vanished of the sea, which the Cossack was so confident of having seen. The Karaikee said he had been considering the distance we had made, and thought it was too great to attempt to return, and he was willing now to obey my orders and accompany me through whatever road I chose to take. I explained to them the necessity of firmness and an unaltered resolution, telling them that they must put their trust in God, while exerting every nerve and all their fortitude of mind to keep themselves from sinking under the incessant fatigue we must inevitably experience, for that we had but a scanty allowance of food, and must push on in full hopes of being able to procure more by the road, though we could form no judgment as to when the period of our troubles and labors would arrive.
I made the Cossack and the Chinese join their hands to ours, and, turning to the East, cross themselves as I did to confirm their promise, assuring them that I would eat, drink, sleep, and work the same as the rest, nor require of them one single act that I was not ready and willing to assist in performing myself. We left on this spot everything superfluous in the way of clothes, etc., making the sledges as light as possible. The Cossack and myself led the way. I soon perceived that we should have some difficulty in accomplishing the business, but the danger was not so great as we imagined. Having only a scanty portion of food we drank tea twice every twenty-four hours, and in the morning we took thin rice-water, with a small lump of chocolate each, to make it palatable. We perceived that, laborious as was our march, this nourishment was enough to keep us alive until it should please Heaven to direct us where we might procure, with our guns, the means of living well. I was pleased at finding my companions more cheerful and seemingly determined to exert all their fortitude, courage, and perseverance so necessary to conquer difficulties and insure our safety. We were an unfortunate little band, thrown upon a wide wilderness, but relying on heaven and our good stars, entirely ignorant of the country, and having nothing but a pocket-compass to direct us towards the ocean, as to which, whether it was one hundred or twenty versts distant, we could not possibly tell....
On the 31st we threw everything away except what was absolutely necessary. Just as we were about to depart, on the evening of this day, two wild geese flew over us. I fired at them and thought I had missed, but my Chinese boy declared he heard the shot strike and had seen them alight, about two hundred yards off, on a spot which he pointed out. The Cossack and myself repaired thither with all possible speed. One of the geese fled at our approach, and the other that was wounded remained in the middle of a large bog, where, if shot, I was fearful we should find great trouble in getting it. After shooting it I entered the bog, but found the surface of a tough sod that sank down, bringing the mud and water to my middle without breaking. I had used the precaution to take a large stick in my hand, or I should not have been able to extricate myself. The sod at length broke and let me down to my arm-pits, and I was obliged to tell the Cossack, who was a much lighter man, to try what he could do. He succeeded remarkably well until he got nearly back with the goose, when he sunk suddenly up to his neck, and began to roar and bawl in a most hideous manner, being so alarmed at the same time that he could hardly make use of the stick. I had the utmost difficulty to get near him with the other stick, which he laid hold of, and I pulled him out, almost suffocated with mud. Dangerous as was the situation of my companion, his ridiculous figure made me burst into a fit of laughter, and the Chinese joined me heartily; this caused him to scream the more loudly, in order to impress me with the fuller idea of his perilous situation. When extricated from the bog he crossed himself a dozen times and then laughed as heartily as myself. Indeed, the goose was such a prize as gave us spirits to laugh....
In the evening I went to the summit of the mountain again, imagining that as the sun descended I might discover better what was on the opposite side of some extensive low grounds that lay before us. Whilst there, and holding my compass to take the direction for our route of the following day, I thought I plainly saw, at a great distance to the northward and eastward, three or four men, and as many reindeer or horses. I immediately called out to the two Chinese to light a large fire, and making the Cossack and Karaikee come up to me endeavored to point out to them the objects that had just met my eyes. Although I felt confident I saw men and animals moving, I could not with all my care direct their sight so as to distinguish them, and they persisted in saying they could see nothing. This made me quite unhappy....
Scarcely had we made our fire when the grass all around us was in a blaze, obliging us to move to another spot; and the fire raged with such violence it was in vain to attempt extinguishing it. At length the woods--the whole country around--were on fire. We were not sorry for an accident that might, perhaps, if any of the natives were near, bring them to the spot. It also helped to destroy some large swarms of mosquitoes that plagued us not a little on our arrival. Indeed, we suffered almost as much from these insects as from fatigue and hunger. Those flying leeches of Siberia never quitted us day or night, unless when on the mountains, or when the wind blew hard enough to sweep them away. We got off early on the 4th, and had a most fatiguing time till twelve o’clock, when the sun became so oppressive it was impossible to proceed any farther without refreshment. The skin being chafed from our shoulders, and our feet sore, added to the difficulty of wading the deep marshes that occurred at every instant; we were all completely exhausted. My two Chinese, for the first time, lay down and began to cry! I consoled them with the assurance that we must either discern the sea, or arrive at some place where we should find plenty of food, in the course of a day or two; and that it was a folly to give up when we were now at the moment of getting over our difficulties. Taking out the rest of the small biscuits that I had carefully preserved, I divided them equally between the Cossack, the Karaikee, and themselves, and having boiled our kettle, and drunk heartily of tea, the whole party was soon put into good spirits again. As I kept no part of this slender provision for myself, it was some time before I could prevail upon the two Chinese to eat their biscuit without sharing it with me. However, I would not take it from them; for, although I was tired, I did not feel my strength exhausted as they did.
While my companions slept I drew on my boots, that scarcely deserved the name, and made an excursion with my gun to see if I could find any game, and also to examine the route necessary to be pursued in the afternoon. It grieved me considerably to perceive that the impediments we had met in the morning increased so much as to render it necessary to proceed due south. I was almost in despair, when I beheld six large sea-gulls flying in that direction, and which at length seemed to alight near a forest some distance off, which place, however, I thought we should be able to reach, by exerting ourselves, before seven or eight in the evening. I returned immediately to my companions, who were not a little delighted by this joyful news, the Karaikee assuring me there must be a large river or lake near, as the kind of gulls I had seen strongly indicated this.
We now found the way moss-covered, dry, and even, and between six and seven in the evening arrived at the forest. To our great astonishment we beheld what we supposed a narrow lake of great length, forming a crescent, the opposite banks being also covered with fine timber. Here we determined to pass the night, and pitched our tent behind a small copse, that concealed it from the lake, in order to prevent its frightening away any water-fowl that might visit it. This being accomplished, leaving the Chinese and Cossack to boil the tea-kettle, the Karaikee and myself went to examine the lake. On approaching the banks I discovered two small ducks quite near the shore, and had the good fortune to shoot them both at one shot. Running to the water-side to pick them up, God only knows the inexpressible joy that filled our hearts when we beheld the water move, and satisfied our senses that we were on the banks of a large river. It was somewhat remarkable that the obstacles I had met with during the last two days, and which disheartened me so much, had yet, by turning me aside from the route I wished to take, been the cause of our falling in with this fine stream so favorable to our wishes. We felt satisfied it must bring us to the ocean, from which, by all appearances, we could not be far removed. My companions were overjoyed beyond measure at this discovery, since we could now make a raft, and descend to the sea without undergoing such severe fatigue as heretofore, not to mention the pleasing anticipation of being daily enabled to procure plenty of food.
On the 6th of June I went out very early with my gun, but finding no game, picked some handfuls of keesletya to make soup for our dinner with the remaining duck, and returned to my companions. A number of fine trees lay before us on the ground. I therefore marked out those which I thought best suited for our raft. The Cossack said he would cut them whilst I should go out in search of food, so that we all might be enabled to work the following morning, and leave that place in the evening. Although I walked a considerable distance during the morning, and saw a deer and several geese, ducks, and gulls, they were all so wild it was impossible to get within shot of them. I returned, quite dejected and tired, along the banks of the river, seating myself in the bushes, about two hundred yards above our tent, where I was determined to stay and shoot something to afford us a dinner on the following day. It was not long before a gull came flying over my head. I shot it, and shortly after a fine duck that fell into the river just before me. Leaning on my gun, I pulled off my boots in order to wade after it. Just as I had got them off, seeing the current seizing my prize, I rushed into the water, fearful of losing it, and forgetting I had a gun in my hand until I was out of my depth and obliged to swim. The weight of my clothes and of the double-barrelled fowling-piece embarrassed me so much that I could not keep myself above water, and, sinking several times, I was at length obliged to let go my favorite gun, and even then with difficulty kept myself from sinking. Luckily, some bushes grew up not far below me, having their tops above the water, which I attained and laid hold of, though I still found myself out of my depth. Here the duck was entangled, and I secured it. There was a bush for every four or five yards between me and the shore, and I swam from one to another, holding the duck in my mouth, and arriving where it was shallow enough to wade before my friends got near enough to aid me. I regretted exceedingly the loss of a gun that had been so useful, but we had two remaining which were sufficient for our purpose. On the 7th we all labored hard to finish our raft, as we had food for that day, and were to trust to our good stars to furnish us on the following. I employed myself in cutting down immediately two large dead trees for the side-pieces; and before two o’clock in the day we had all the timbers well lashed together, and the raft ready to be launched in the water. After dinner we launched our raft, which to our great joy did not swim too low, and proved in fact everything that we could have wished. It was composed of fifteen lower timbers, of the thickness of a man’s thigh, and about sixteen or eighteen feet long, two cross-pieces at each end, to which they were strongly lashed with manilla rope and thongs, and a layer of poles and bushes placed above all to sit on. Thus prepared, we placed our baggage upon it, and committed ourselves to the surface of a fine large river with a current running at the rate of more than five miles an hour. Before quitting this place we all returned thanks to Heaven in the most solemn manner for having conducted us thus far in safety, and prayed fervently for a continuation of the Almighty protection we had so often experienced. We soon discovered a material difference between walking and our present method of travelling, having floated at our ease, before nine at night, a greater distance than we had made during any three days before. We had also the pleasure, for the first time, of being free from mosquitoes and gnats. Just before we stopped for the night I killed a fine large sheldrake that came flying by. I determined to stop every night at ten or eleven o’clock, and start again at four in the morning, being fearful lest during the twilight we might run foul of rocks or trees in the way, and injure our raft so as to oblige us again to go on foot. We encamped this night close on the bank of the river amongst some dry grass, and not far from a mountain called Sunkapskoy, which the Cossack thought he knew he had traversed in the winter, and near to which was a Tongusee tabboon. Between two and three in the morning a swan came floating down the river. I fired at it with my rifle, and missed. Seeing it fly toward a lake at the back of the tent, where we heard another one, I repaired thither and got a shot at it from behind a bush, within forty or fifty yards. The bird rose and flew a little way, and then to our great joy fell dead in the middle of the lake. The Cossack, tying two pieces of old timber together with a thong he had in his pocket, floated himself along on them, and brought the swan safely to shore. This stock of animal food put the whole party in good spirits, and we continued our route on the raft, finding the current increasing every hour, and promising to convey us rapidly to the ocean. During the day I shot another swan and a duck. We soon discovered that the mountain that the Cossack thought he knew was much farther from the sea than he imagined, and after we had floated near it, he did not recollect any of the country around. The river was extremely crooked, sometimes carrying us west, sometimes east, and in fact to all points of the compass. On the 8th, in the evening, we stopped early, and had, for the first time since we left the mountain, what we thought a good supper, though we were still fearful of consuming meat more than once a day, the wild fowl being excessively shy and difficult to shoot.
The weather became so raw and uncomfortable, being accompanied with a drizzling rain, that we stopped earlier than usual, and continued to halt until four o’clock in the morning of the 10th, when we proceeded again, though a chill fog prevailed, and a good deal of wind. We had a most unpleasant time, but, anxious to arrive at the ocean, would not lie by, particularly as the stream had increased in rapidity, and now hurried us along with considerable swiftness. About one o’clock, although we were nearly in the middle of the river, which was here upwards of a verst wide, we were suddenly seized by a whirlpool; and in spite of our utmost efforts, having nothing but poles to guide the raft, were drawn violently towards the left bank, and forced under some large trees, which had been undermined by the water, and hung over the surface of the stream, the roots still holding them fast to the shore. I saw the danger to which we were exposed, and called out to every one to lie flat on his face and hold fast to the baggage. The branches were so thick it was impossible for all to escape, and there being barely room to admit the raft under them, they swept off the two Chinese, the Karaikee, my tin box with all my papers and valuables, our soup-kettle, etc., etc. Nothing now remained but a small tea-kettle and a few other things that happened to be tied fast with thongs. The Karaikee and one of the Chinese seized hold of the branches that swept them off, and held their heads above water, but the youngest of the Chinese having floated away with the current, the Cossack and myself had the greatest difficulty in paddling the raft up to him. We came just in time to poke our poles down after him as he sank for the third time. Fortunately he seized it, and we drew him upon the raft half drowned. As the current was running at the rate of six or seven miles an hour, we were carried more than half a verst down before we gained the shore. The other Chinese and the Karaikee crying out aloud for assistance, I ran up the shore as quickly as I could, taking a long pole with me, and leaving the Cossack to take care of the raft and the young Chinese. When I arrived at the spot my Chinese cook informed me he had seized my tin box with one hand, and was so tired of holding with the other that, if I did not come soon to his assistance, he must leave it to the mercy of the current. Whilst I attempted to walk out on the body of the tree, whose branches they were holding, one of the roots broke, and very nearly separated it from the shore. I was therefore obliged to jump off and stride to one that was two feet under water, hauling myself along by the branches of the others, and at length I got near enough to give the Chinese a pole. He seized fast hold, and I pulled him between two branches, enabling him to get a leg over one, and keep his body above water. Thus placed, he tied the tin box with his handkerchief to the pole, and I got it safely ashore. I was now obliged to return and assist the Karaikee, who held by some branches far out, and where there were no others near enough for him to reach, in order to draw himself in. After half an hour’s labor I got them both on the bank, neither of them knowing how to swim, and both much exhausted by the cold and the difficulty of holding so long against a rapid current. As the wind commenced blowing very hard, we concluded to stay all that day where we were, it being likewise necessary to dry our clothes, papers, etc., which were all completely wet.
In the afternoon the wind died away, and the sun shone out clear, when I commenced drying my papers, and found many of the most valuable of them totally ruined. The ink in some was quite effaced, and others were so stuck together that they were destroyed in my attempting to separate them. At six in the evening we made an excursion along the banks of the river, to see if we could discover any of the things we had lost, and kill some game. In our rambles we frightened a duck from off her nest, and got six eggs. Shortly after I killed a swan with my rifle, and the poor Karaikee going for it, had the pleasure to find his bundle of clothes that had been swept from the raft. We had lost nearly all our cooking utensils: fortunately our spoons and cups were in our pockets. A small tea-kettle without a cover had to serve for every purpose. The top of my tin box we employed as a dish, pouring our soup into it that we might eat it more conveniently with our spoons. We felt severely the loss of our soup-kettle, being obliged to make our dinner and drink our tea from the same vessel. In consequence of the high wind that prevailed, and its being quite unsafe for our frail bark to proceed, we remained here until four o’clock in the afternoon of the 11th, when we departed, though it was still blowing hard, with drizzling rain, making the weather quite cold and uncomfortable. We became so wet and chilled that we stopped early in the evening. We left our resting place between four and five on the 12th, with a rapid current that conveyed us swiftly along. About mid-day we espied a Tongusee canoe hung up between two trees, and the appearance of some wood freshly cut made me immediately push for the shore, inspired with the hope of finding there some inhabitants. In this expectation we were disappointed, though there was every appearance of persons having visited the spot but a short time before. We were not a little overjoyed to find the canoe with paddles and everything complete. Our raft was much water-soaked and swimming deep, and without the canoe we should have been obliged to remain a day somewhere in order to repair it, and put some additional logs to make it float higher. The canoe we now lashed to one side, put the Karaikee in one end and the Cossack in the other, with a considerable portion of our baggage, and lightened the raft, so that it swam as high as we could wish. We found those two persons with their paddles could turn it more quickly and better than all five of us had been able to do with poles.
We now floated on a fine, deep, and wide river, and, though extremely crooked, beautiful beyond conception, winding down amongst romantic mountains and through large bodies of rich lowlands, interspersed with lakes, rivulets, and meadows covered with fine grass. It appeared a matter of surprise to me that so fine a stream, apparently possessing abundance of game and fish, should be entirely destitute of neighboring inhabitants. We saw numbers of fish constantly playing about us, and contrived a hook with a small nail, but had not the good fortune to catch any of them. The current seemed to increase as we descended, and we set off before four on the 13th to take advantage of it. About ten o’clock I discovered a jourta not far from the edge of the left bank, and casting off the canoe despatched the Cossack and Karaikee to examine it. They soon returned, informing me it was a winter jourta of the Tongusees, but was then quite deserted, and that there was not the smallest appearance of inhabitants anywhere near. The day was hot and calm, and our visit to the shore brought off to us a swarm of mosquitoes that pestered us continually,--an annoyance we had not experienced for some days previously in consequence of the wind and rain. My companions often complained of not having meat enough, and seemed displeased at my dealing it out sparingly. This was, however, absolutely necessary by reason of the difficulty of killing game, for we perceived that as we descended the river became wider, and the water-fowl scarcer and more difficult of approach; besides which it was quite uncertain whether we should meet inhabitants at the sea-coast, and perhaps, when there, we might again find game scarce and difficult to shoot. On the 14th the current increased in rapidity to such a degree that it cost us considerable pain and labor to guide our raft in safety, and we felt grateful to Heaven for having fallen with the canoe, without which we could never have descended this part of the river on so frail a vehicle.
We ran aground three or four times, and twice got entangled in the trees that hung over the stream, but fortunately escaped without accident. Perceiving a very dangerous place just below us, and being too near the shore to prevent the raft’s being drawn into the whirlpool, we pulled in and landed on the bank immediately opposite to us. We then dragged the raft up for about a hundred yards, assisted by the counter current that generally prevails near the edge of a stream. By this precaution we got nigh enough to be able to make an offing sufficient to prevent being thrown upon another dangerous place we had seen below, composed of fallen trees, roots, etc., thrown up like an island, over which the water foamed in a cataract. Not long after we had landed I observed the Karaikee examining with great attention the spot where we were and the surrounding mountains, and at length he began to pray and to cross himself with great fervency, the tears running down his cheeks in a stream. I approached him to inquire the cause of his emotion, when he exclaimed: “That is our mountain; our village is not far off, for on this spot I caught some hares last winter. I know that we are now not far from Grebay, a small Yakut village on the sea-coast, at the mouth of the river, which is called Cowvah, and only twenty versts from Towinsk. But a short distance below this is the branch on which Towinsk stands, emptying itself into the bay, about ten versts higher up, and if it had been earlier in the season we might have descended it with a raft, but I perceive the water is now too low to attempt it.”
It will be easier for my readers to imagine than for me to express the joy we all experienced at this cheering news. We boiled our kettle and made all the meat we had into soup, determined to have a feast after such a long term of short allowance. This, however, was only a comparative feast, as our whole stock amounted to a third of a swan and a teal. Our repast finished we pushed off our raft with great spirits, paddling with all our strength to obtain the midway channel and avoid the dangers which, like Scylla and Charybdis, threatened us on either hand. The current ran at the rate of eight or nine knots an hour in turbulent eddies that twisted us round and round, in spite of our best exertions. We had, however, the good fortune to escape unhurt, but afterwards ran aground several times, and with great difficulty got the raft off (by all jumping into the water) and that not without injuring it materially. Between two and three o’clock in the afternoon we found ourselves in a fine wide channel, with a moderate current, and on the beach, not far below us, descried a man and two boys mending a canoe. The effect the sight of human beings had upon us is not to be described. Every soul shed tears of joy, and when these people approached with their canoe to assist us it was impossible to resist the impulse, or to answer their questions. Our tears flowed in streams, and we were all so unmanned we could only reply to them by signs. The elder person proved to be a Yakut, whom I had known when I passed before. This good Yakut, when he recognized me, jumped upon the raft, clasped me in his arms, and shed tears in abundance, exclaiming, “Thank God! Thank God! you are all saved.” He informed me that the Tongusees having confessed their leaving us on the mountain, the old chief, living near to Towinsk, had despatched his son, with twenty-five head of reindeer, in search of us, and that every one there had given us up for lost, knowing how difficult it was to procure food on those deserted plains and mountains in the spring of the year.
On inquiry we found that had we taken any other route than the one we came we must inevitably have perished!
* * * * *
[Sidenote: 1881.]
“Dear Uncle Fritz,” said Alice, shivering, “did anything as bad as that ever happen to you?”
“Not for so many days,” said he, patting her shoulder as they walked into supper. “But I have eaten smoked salmon cold with more appetite than I now have for Ellen’s hot muffins.”
When they were seated at the table, and the decomposition of the muffins had begun, Bob Edmeston followed up what Alice had said.
“You see, Alice,” said he, “that the excitement of discovery carries men on. For me, I mourn that nothing is left unknown for the explorers of this age.”
They all laughed at his melancholy, and Philip asked him what was the source of Mink Brook, and Laura if he would tell her where the water of the Shannock factories emptied into the sea.
“I will not be bullied,” said Bob. “I do not know these things because my education has been neglected. But, alas! some one knows them. They are on the map of Rhode Island. What I thirst for is the unknown, yet not unknowable. Alas! the discoverers have wrested this from me.”
“Not at all,” said Uncle Fritz. “You have only to ask at the Public Library for the Journal of the Geographical Society, or the Bulletin de la Geographie, and you will see that there is as good discovery as ever going on to-day.”
“One comes to love these explorers,” said Bertha. “Here I never heard of your Mr. Dobell’s wife nor children nor home; but I have been crying, without knowing it, because he was so hungry.”
Fergus said, rather seriously, that we always sympathized with men who gave themselves for an idea. It might be obedience to an Emperor, it might be the source of a river,--we were always glad to follow a man in proportion as he was unselfish.
Bob Edmeston, without going into the philosophy of the thing, said there were lots of interesting books on the shelf the Dobell volumes came from.
So there are, and so it happens that the next volume of this series will be
STORIES OF DISCOVERY TOLD BY DISCOVERERS.
INDEX.
Abbott, Jacob, 10.
Acre, 50; Siege of, 71, 81; assault on the town, 83; arrival of Richard I., 89; surrender of Acre, 97; heroic incidents of siege, 87, 88, 93, 94.
Adams, John Quincy, 256; memoirs of, 256.
Adventures, Captain Bonneville’s, 256.
Albany, 156.
Aleppo, 66.
Algonquins, the, 143, 157, 158, 159, 160.
Alpine Club, 8, 9.
Apaches, the, 158.
“Arabian Nights,” 31; Lane’s translation of, 31, 32.
Astoria, 256.
Athapescans, the, 158.
Aurora Borealis, 170.
Balbeck, 66.
Bancroft’s History of the United States, 157.
Beaver, the, 170-178; habitat of, 170, 171; dams of, described, 172; beaver-houses, 173, 174; absurd stories concerning, 175; hunting the beaver, 177, 178.
Bertrandon de la Brocquière, 45; joins the Crusaders, 46; their route, 46; travelling in the desert, 47; reaches Gaza, 48; pilgrimage to Nazareth, 49; the town of Acre, 50; gardens of Jaffa, 51; in Damascus, 52; Baruth, 53; Mount Tabor, 55; description of a caravan, 58; the shrine of Mohammed, 59; Damascus blades, 61; Turkish customs, 65, 66, 67, 68.
Bethlehem, 34.
Blue Hills, the, 8, 9.
Bohn’s Library, 33, 45, 71.
Bryant’s History of the United States, 127.
Buffalo-hunt, a, 273, 274.
Cabots, the, 102, 135.
California, origin of the name, 102.
Canary Islands, the, 188-193.
Caravan, description of, 58.
Casa Grande, 135.
“Cat,” a, 93.
Cathay, the Chan of, 37-43.
Cevola, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 136.
Charles V., Emperor of Germany, 103.
Chateaubriand, François, Vicomte de, 255.
Clements, Alberic, death of, 93, 94.
Cleveland, Captain, early history of, 221, 222; buys a packet-boat in Havre, and starts out to see the world, 221; his first crew, 221; some novel experimenting with the compass, 224, 225; a Prussian grenadier, 225, 226; a group worthy of Hogarth, 226; adventure with an English frigate, 227; encounter with a privateer, 228, 229; arrives at Cape of Good Hope, 231; is suspected of being a spy, 232; further difficulties encountered, 233-236; sells vessel and cargo, 236, 238; a voyage in South American waters, 238; arrives at Valparaiso, 238; difficulty with the Spanish Governor, 239, 240; arrested, 243; further hostilities, 244-246; boarding the Hazard, 246, 247; calls on the Governor, 248-250; final leave-taking, 251, 252; Captain Cleveland at sixty-seven concerning himself, 237, 255.
Cleveland’s Travels, 220, 221; opinion of his book, 237; extracts from, 221-237, 238-252.
Columbia River, discovery of, 255.
Columbus, Christopher, 37, 101, 102.
Conversation, Uncle Fritz’s rules for, 9.
Coronado, Vasquez de, expedition of, 128, 129, 135; discovery of the Gila River; Casa Grande, 135; Civola, 136, 137; description of the country, and its people, 136-139.
Cortes, Hernando, 101, 102, 103; extracts from letters of, 103-125; attack on colony of, at Vera Cruz, 104; uprising in city of Mexico, 104, 105, 106; Montezuma, attempting to pacify the Indians, is wounded to death, 106; Cortes retreats to Tacuba, 115; is defeated at Tacuba and Indian allies are slain, 116, 117; again retreats, 117, 118; Cortes as an explorer, 118-125.
Cow-tree, the, 204.
Crusaders, the, 45-68; the Third Crusade, 71-100.
Cyprus, taking of, 90.
Dakotas, the, 263-269.
Damascus, 51, 52; blades of, 61.
Dana, Richard Henry, 237.
Defoe, Daniel, 185.
Dobell, Peter, travels of, 277-308.
Electrical eels, method of fishing for, 208, 209.
Eliot, John, Apostle to the Indians, 158.
Ephrata, _see_ Bethlehem.
Fra Marco, 127; a prince of liars, 129; his remarkable account of the country he explored, 129-135; Coronado’s opinion of Fra Marco, 136.
Frederic Barbarossa, 73, 74, 77, 78; tragic death of, 79, 80.
Fulton, Robert, 256.
Gay’s History, _see_ Bryant’s History of the United States.
Gila River, 135.
Goeffrey of Vinsauf, 69, 71.
Goupil, René, 144, 145, 146, 147.
Greek fire, 85.
Guy, King of Jerusalem, 80.
Hakluyt, quoted, 129.
Hazard, the, 239; seizure of 246, 247.
Hearne’s Travels, 159, 160; extract from, 160-183.
Henry II. of England, 72, 89.
Hudson’s Bay Company, 184.
Humboldt, Alexander, early history of, 184, 185; Travels of, 185; visits Washington, 185; extract from his own account of his travels, 187; his fondness for the sea, 187; love of Nature, 188; plans to study the Western Continent, 188; arrives at the Canaries, 188; the volcanoes of Teneriffe, 189-192; Orotava, 192; flocks of canaries, 192, 193; the Southern Cross, 193, 194; Manzanares, the, 194; bathing in, 195; pearl-oysters of the South American coast, 195; South American scenery, impressive character of, 197; Caripe, convent of, 199; preaching to the Indians, 199; Cumana, 200, 201; encounter with an Indian, 201, 202; aromatic shrubs, 203; the cow-tree, 204; howling monkeys, 205, 206; a search for drinking-water, 206, 207; electrical eels, 208; crocodiles, 209; jaguars, 210, 211; a primitive South American grandee, 211-213; a midnight concert in the forest, 214; the Land Beyond the Great Cataracts, 216-217; interlocked rivers, 218-219.
Hurons, the, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 149, 150.
Indians, division into families, 157, 158, 159; dialects of, compared, 158, 159; Indians of the North, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 181, 182, 183; an Indian Robinson Crusoe, 178, 179, 180.
Iroquois, the, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 152, 153, 154, 157.
Irving, Washington, 256.
Itinerary of Richard I., 71; extract from, 71-100.
Jaguar, the, 210, 211.
Jefferson, Thomas, 185, 252, 254.
Jesuits, Society of, 141, 142.
Jogues, Father Isaac, 142; sent as missionary to New France, 142; travels to Quebec, 143; homeward journey, 143; is attacked by hostile Iroquois, and captured, 143, 144; capture of René Goupil, 145; suffers the most cruel tortures, 145, 146, 147; captivity, 148, 149, 150; his escape is planned, 151; escapes, and is concealed on a ship bound for France, 152, 153; voluntarily gives himself up, 154; release from captivity, 154; Dutch Governor makes terms with the Iroquois, 154; Massacre at Schenectady, 155, 156.
Kamtchadales, the, 282, 283.
Kamchatka, Dobell’s travels in, 277; the Kamtchadales, 282, 283; Prince Zachar, 283; the reindeer, 284; sleeping in the snow, 285; sleighing in May, 287; among the mountains, 290; lost in a wilderness, 294-308.
Kublai Khan, 15, 19-26.
Lady Oliver House, 7.
Lewis and Clarke, expedition of, 255, 258.
Loadstone, 35, 36.
Long, Major S. H., 257; commands government-expedition to the Northwest, 258; route ordered, 258; object of journey, 259; relics of the mound-builders, 259-263; meets with Dakota Indians, 263-265; Indian banquets, 266, 267; speech of the Chief, 268, 269; encounter with hostiles, 269-273; a buffalo-hunt, 273, 274.
Mandeville, Sir John, 10, 31; travels of, 31; sources of his tales, 32; selections from, 34-43; why Sir John did not tell about Paradise, 43, 44.
Manhattan, 154.
Manzanares, the, 194, 195.
Mecca, 58, 59.
Mendoça, Don Antonio de, 128, 133.
Minnesota, state of, 256, 257.
Mississippi, source of, 257.
Mohammed, shrine of, 59.
Montezuma, 106; children of, 114, 117.
Moorish feast, a, 53.
Moose-hunting, 180, 181.
Moquis, the, famed for their cakes, 139, 140.
Narvaez, expedition of, 129, 255.
New York, province of, 156.
Nolan, Philip, 254.
Northwest, the, 253-274.
Ohio, mounds of, 260-263.
Oregon, claim to, 255.
Oregon trail, the, 256.
Orinoco, the, 206, 207, 216, 217, 218, 219.
Orotava, 189, 192, 193.
Parkman, Francis, 142, 256.
Peabody Museum, the, 127.
_Petrariae_, 91, 92, 95.
Philip, Duke of Burgundy, 45.
Philip II. of France, 72, 90, 91, 93.
Pizarro, Gonzalo, 103.
Plutarch’s Lives, 70.
Polo, Marco, 10, 11; Col. Yule’s edition of, 11, 30; Irving’s account of, 11; his father and his uncle, voyages of, 11, 12; the Great Khan, 12; Marco Polo sets out on his travels, 12; return after twenty-four years, 12; reception to his countrymen, 13; is taken prisoner, 13; begins to write the story of his wanderings, 14, 15, 16; Persia and the Three Wise Men, 16, 17, 18; Cublay Khan, 19; the rebellion of Nayan, 20; Caidu, 20; battle between Nayan and the Khan, 22, 23; Nayan’s defeat and surrender, 24.
Post-houses, 26-29, 102.
Post-houses in Tartary, 26-29.
Pottery, Indian, 127, 128.
Pueblos, 128, 129, 132, 136, 137.
Richard I. of England, 72; landing of, at Acre, 89; joins forces with the King of France, 90, 91, 92, 99; Turkish estimate of, 99, 100.
Rio Negro, 219.
Robinson Crusoe, 185, 275; the New, 185, 186; further adventures of, 276, 277.
Roses, origin of, 34.
Royal Mendicant, story of, 35.
St. Paul, Vision of, 53.
Saladin, 71, 74, 75, 77, 80, 82, 83, 95, 96, 99.
Schenectady, 155, 156; massacre at, 155; early American ballad about the massacre, 155, 156.
Siberia, 275; a Siberian snowstorm, 278, 279; Siberian hospitality, 279-281.
Sindbad the Sailor, Fifth Voyage of, 36.
Six Nations, the, _see_ Iroquois.
South America, travels in, 187-219.
Southern Cross, the, 193, 194.
Spanish claims, 239.
Tabor, Mount, 55.
Talisman, the, 70, 71.
Tamerlane, 52.
Tartars, the, 40, 41.
Teneriffe, volcano of, 188, 189; the ascent of the Peak, 189-192.
Terrestrial Paradise, 37, 44.
Three Wise Men, the, 16, 17, 18.
Tobolsk, 277.
Turks, manners and customs of, 65, 66, 67, 68; valor of, 94, 95, 96, 99.
Tyre, 81, 84, 85; archbishop of, 72.
United States, northern boundary of, 256, 257.
Verrazzani, 102.
Vesuvius, Mount, 191, 192.
Vicar of Wakefield, 69.
Washington, government reports published at, 256.
Washington, Mount, 69.
Watts, Isaac, 253.
World, early maps of, 101, 102.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] “How to Do It,” pp. 29-60.
[2] So Yule corrects Irving, who says 1250.
[3] “Early Travels in Palestine.” In Bohn’s Antiquarian Library.
[4] See “Stories of the Sea.”
[5] We follow the spelling of the old English versions, even when they vary from each other.
[6] Mountour,--an old English rendering of the French _mountagnette_, meaning a raised platform.
[7] This is an early mention of portable fire-arms in the East; they were at this time novelties in Europe.
[8] The news of Saladin’s victories in Tyre, Antioch, Acre, etc.
[9] This was the river of Kalycadnus in Seleucia. The estimate given of Frederic I. by Geoffrey is confirmed by other history.
[10] His father, Henry II. of England, had died since Richard joined the Crusades.
[11] This is the street to Tacuba, now a village on solid ground, which was then covered entirely by the lakes.
[12] This is always the spelling in Cortes’s letters.
[13] Called the hill of Muteczuma, on which is now a celebrated sanctuary of the Lady de los Remedios.
[14] This is the night known as the sorrowful night, _la noche triste_.
[15] Old English spelling for ladders. Observe the word “lath” hidden in “lathers.”
[16] The Civola of Hakluyt is the Cibola and Cevola of the other writers. The change between _b_ and _v_ is not unfrequent.
[17] Mr. Hearne afterwards gives rather a lame explanation of the least important part of this trick.
[18] Isla de la Gran Canaria.
[19] For this was in time of war.
[20] Of Reaumur’s thermometer. Each degree is equal to 21⁄4 of our thermometers, and the zero is our 32°.
[21] “Farm of the Alligator.”
[22] Excite the fish with horses.
[23] A species of mimosa.
[24] As a favor to the merchant, I consented to share the loss with him.
[25] The Oregon Trail.
[26] Memoirs of John Quincy Adams.
[27] See Stories of the Sea, p. 107.
_Stories of War, the Sea, Adventure, Discovery, and Inventions_
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