I was always an admirer of the rigid adherence of the Russians to their religious forms and ceremonies. I never saw a Russian, high or low, who did not, both before and after eating, ask a blessing, and give thanks to God for his bounty, apparently with a sincere and thankful heart. Yet there were some things very absurd in their ceremonies. For instance, I was invited to the christening of a child at the house of the Superintendent, and requested to stand as godfather with Dr. Langsdorff, as it was necessary, I was told, to have two godfathers and two godmothers.[32] At the appointed time we repaired to the house, where we found the pope and numerous guests already assembled. The pope had brought with him a small box, resembling a tea-caddy, containing, as was said, consecrated oil. A large tub full of water was placed in the centre of the room, and the pope’s apparatus near at hand. He then commenced the operation with prayers, after which, he took the child in his arms and plunged it under the water. Then, with a small brush and some oil from the box, he crossed the child all over its body and legs, and afterwards marched round the tub, and we, the godfathers and godmothers, followed, in Indian file, three times around. The child was then given to one of the godfathers, crossed again, and round the tub we went three times more. And so it continued until we all had taken our turns, and made fifteen circuits of the tub. Now I thought this, or the greater part of it, a nonsensical ceremony, and a piece of rigmarole; but it was not my part to find fault or object to it, and I willingly conformed to the custom.
When it was over, the tub was taken away, and a table put in its place, madam, the mother of the child, brought on the goodies, pies of flesh and pies of fish, cakes of various kinds, preserved berries, and many other things; but what astounded me most was that a bottle of real ardent spirits found its way to the table on this extra occasion, an article which had disappeared from among our stores several months previous. The pope paid his respects to it with peculiar unction, and a glowing countenance, and the rest of us were not slow in following suit. This was one of the friendly gatherings to which I made it a point never to refuse an invitation; and I found the Russians very fond of celebrating birthdays, christenings, and as many holidays as they could make an excuse for.
VII.
Voyage to Ochotsk.—Journey from Ochotsk to Yakutsk.
About the last of March the snow began to disappear rapidly, and by the middle of April the ground was so bare that our sledging parties were abandoned. The ice had left the bay, and all hands were at work, under the directions of Lieut. Schwostoff and Davidoff, sawing and breaking up the ice in the inner harbor, in order to extricate the Juno and Awos, which had been preparing to sail for some time. By the 25th the channel was cleared, and the two vessels put to sea, with the four Japanese who had passed the winter with us. Their destination was the northern Japanese Islands, where they intended to land their passengers, and make some further attempts to establish an intercourse with the people.
By this movement I was prompted to get my little craft afloat and prepare for the remainder of my voyage. I was admonished, by those acquainted with the breaking up of the ice in the rivers at the head of the Ochotsk Sea, not to be in a hurry; but my anxiety to be off rendered me deaf to all remonstrances; and on the 22d of May I was ready. At this point I was beset by a number of persons, both male and female, for a passage to Ochotsk. I concluded to take five in addition to Madam Lariwanoff and daughter, viz. one elderly widow woman, one old woman and her daughter, one very respectable young man in the Company’s service, and one other gentleman. Our party now numbered eighteen. We were tolerably well equipped, and had an abundant supply of such provisions as the place afforded. When our arrangements were all completed, Doctor Langsdorff and myself devoted a day to taking leave of the many friends who had entertained us during the winter; and I particularly of my old landlord and landlady, Starruk and Starruke. To the former I paid what he thought a very liberal compensation for the apartment I had occupied at his house. I also made him a present of my sledge, its equipage, and my dogs, with the exception of one, which I took with me. To Starruke I gave my bedding, curtains, and furniture. I then bade good-bye to these warm-hearted people, and left them with their warmest prayers for a prosperous voyage. Our passengers now came on board, and, after making the best accommodations for them our contracted quarters would admit, on the 26th, with fair weather, we bade adieu to Petropowlowsk, and weighed anchor.
Favorable winds continued just long enough to give us a good offing, when they became light and adverse, with calms, and so continued for several days. On the 30th, having just taken a brisk breeze, which was driving us along, for a wonder, at nearly five knots, we ran into a large whale which was lying near the surface. We somehow slid up his back so as to raise our little vessel two or three feet and throw her over on her side four or five streaks. It was like striking a rock, and brought us to a complete standstill. The monster soon showed himself, gave a spout, “kicked” his flukes and went down. He did not appear to be hurt, nor were we hurt, but most confoundedly frightened. I sounded the pump immediately, and found that all was safe as to leakage, and we continued on our course quite satisfied with the result.
June 3d, we passed through between the second and third Kurile Islands from the southern part of Kamtchatka, and entered the Sea of Ochotsk. Here again we were annoyed by the calms, which continued with but little variance until the 14th, when we had reached latitude 58°. We now began to meet ice, at first so scattered that we thought it possible to push through it; but after working in amongst it for a few hours, it became so compact as to be impassable, and extended east, west, and north as far as the eye could reach, even from the masthead a solid mass. Finding it impossible to proceed any farther, and as the ice was closing rapidly around us, I deemed it advisable to avail myself of that better part of valor, discretion, and pole out as we had poled in; for I had soon discovered that our little craft was too slight to deal freely with heavy ice. Having gained the open water, I steered to the eastward all day without finding any passage-way. The wind proving unfavorable for sailing in that direction, we turned and went westward. Thus we continued for ten days, making various attempts to get clear of the ice, and at last succeeded. On the 26th, at meridian, we found our latitude 59°20′, and the land was in sight. On the 27th, we anchored off the mouth of the river Ochota. At 2 P. M., the tide turned, and we crossed the bar, entered the harbor of Ochotsk, and made fast to the Company’s wharf. Thus terminated a long and tedious passage of thirty-three days.
We were told here that the ice had only left the rivers and bays four or five days. We were likewise informed, to our great grief, that his Excellency Baron von Resanoff had died at Krasnojarsk in Siberia, on his route to St. Petersburg. He had fallen from his horse on the road from Ochotsk to Yakutsk, which was supposed to be the cause of his death. The passport and letters I had previously received from his Excellency at once made me acquainted with the Company’s Superintendent, Mr. Petroff; likewise with the commandant of the port, Captain Bucharin. By both these gentlemen I was treated with the utmost kindness and civility; and, knowing my desire to be on my way to St. Petersburg, they were both anxious to afford me every facility in their power. A taboo was immediately put upon a sufficient number of the first horses that arrived from Yakutsk. With the greatest possible despatch, it was necessary to wait a few days, and in the mean time I was taken round the place to see the lions. They did not amount to much. The town was situated on a sand spit, washed by the sea on one side and the river Ochota on the other. The river Kuchtin unites with the Ochota near the harbor’s mouth, which, at the best, is an indifferent one, and not accessible to vessels drawing more than eight feet of water. The town is joined to the mainland by a narrow neck of marshy ground, which is often inundated. In fact, it appeared to me that any extra rise of the river or sea would swamp the whole place. Some ship-building was going on here, and many convicts were employed in the government service.