The Siberian Sable-Hunter.
CHAPTER II.
It is the character of young people to engage in new enterprises with ardor: it was so with Alexis, in his fur-hunting expedition. For a time, indeed, after parting with his father and sister, his heart was heavy, and tears more than once dimmed his eyes. He expected to be absent for a year at least, and who could tell what might befall him or them, during that space of time? Such thoughts came again and again into his mind, and as fancy is apt to conjure up fears for those we love, he pictured to himself many possible evils that might beset his friends at Tobolsk.
But these images gradually faded away, and the young hunter began to be occupied with the scenes around him, and with the conversation of his companions. These consisted of two young men of nearly his own age, and their father, an experienced and skilful hunter. They were all equipped with rifles, and each had a long knife like a dagger in his belt. Their design was to travel on foot to the eastward, a distance of more than two thousand miles, and then proceed northward into the cold and woody regions which border the banks of the great river Lena, as it approaches the Arctic Ocean.
Hitherto Alexis had seen little of Siberia; his curiosity was therefore alive, and he noticed attentively everything he met. Soon after leaving Tobolsk, the party entered upon the vast plain of Baraba, which spreads out to an extent of several hundred miles. It is almost as level as the sea, with slight swells, resembling waves. Such plains are called steppes in Siberia, and they are like the prairies of our western country, being generally destitute of trees, except low willows, and large portions having a marshy soil. Upon this plain the travellers met with no towns, but miserable villages of people, their huts half sunk in the mud. They also sometimes encountered small bands of people called Ostiacks. These seemed to be roving people, and in a state of barbarism. The old hunter of the party, whose name was Linsk, seemed to be well acquainted with the habits of these people, and as the four hunters were trudging along, he gave the following account of them, taking care to say something of himself in the course of his story.
“The Ostiacks are one of the most numerous of the tribes of Tartars that inhabit Siberia. They spread over the country to the north of Tobolsk, along the banks of the Obi, and the various streams that flow into it. They do not like to dig the soil, so they live on fish, and by hunting wild animals. Some of them eat so much fish, that they smell like whale oil. I have been in their tents often, and one of these fisheating families have a flavor as strong as a cask of herrings. Bah! how well I remember them! It seems as if I could smell them now! I shall never get them out of my head.
“You must know that I have been a hunter for twenty-five years, and I have made several expeditions into the north country, where the Ostiacks chiefly dwell. It is a cold and desolate region; no trees but pines and willows grow there; there is no grass, and very few shrubs. Still, it was once a good country for furs; but they are nearly gone now, and I don’t wonder at it, for these Ostiacks are such heathens. They are not Christians, but believe in little wooden images, which they will place on their tables, and lay around them snuff, willow bark, fish oil, and other things which they deem valuable. Having done this, they call upon these images, which are their gods, to make them lucky in fishing and hunting. If the gods don’t send them good luck, then these foolish people do give them such a banging! They cuff their heads, and knock them off the tables, and switch them as if they were so many naughty school-boys.
“Now, for my part, I wonder that fish, or sables, or bears, or any other creatures that are useful, will stay in a country where such stupid people live. And then you must know that the Ostiacks almost worship a bear. They think that this creature is a kind of a witch or wicked god, and such horrid notions of it have they, that, when they take the oath of allegiance to the Russian government, they say, to make it very strong—‘We hope we may be devoured by bears, if we do not keep this oath.’
“Beside all this, the Ostiacks, as you see by those whom we have met, are little short people, not more than five feet high. A great many of the women are fat, and such little round dumplings I never beheld! The hair of these people is of a reddish color, and floats down their shoulders. Their faces are flat, and altogether they look like animals, rather than human creatures. Their houses are made of poles, set up in a circle, and thatched with bark. In winter, the windows are covered with expanded bladders. The fire is made on one side of the room, and the smoke circulates above, finding its way out as it can. Generally, there is but one room in a hut, and all the family are tumbled into it, by night and by day.
“Now all this shows what stupid people these Ostiacks are; but there is one thing I have to say in their praise. They understand fishing and hunting. In chasing the bears, they show courage and skill, and in taking the sable so as not to break his skin, they display true genius. I once knew an old Ostiack that was nearly equal to myself in hunting. He could see the track of an ermine, marten, or sable, upon the snow-crust, when nobody else could; he would follow one of these creatures for a whole day, pretending he could see the foot-prints; but I believe the old fellow could smell like a dog. What beautiful sables and grey foxes he did get! He once got two sable skins which were sent to St. Petersburgh, and sold for three hundred dollars. The emperor bought them himself, and sent the old fellow a knife ornamented with a silver plate, and the word “Nicholas” engraved upon it. This the emperor said was to encourage the hunter to get fine furs. But the old hunter died soon after, and the people said it was from mere pride, because the emperor had paid him so much honor. He never hunted any more, but strutted about, brandishing his knife in the air, and saying, ‘Behold! this is what Nicholas, the Czar of all the Russias, has sent to Dwaff Khizan, the greatest hunter of Siberia!’”