A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Xvii Part 5

I believe the inhabitants had not yet seen either the ship or the boats; for even after we had got on the ice, we could not perceive any signs of a living creature in the town. By the time we had advanced a little way on the ice, we observed a few men hurrying backward and forward, and presently after a sledge drawn by dogs, with one of the inhabitants in it, came down to the sea-side, opposite to us. Whilst we were gazing at this unusual sight, and admiring the great civility of this stranger, which we imagined had brought him to our a.s.sistance, the man, after viewing us for some time very attentively, turned short round, and went off with great speed toward the _ostrog_. We were not less chagrined than disappointed at his abrupt departure, as we began to find our journey over the ice attended not only with great difficulty, but even with danger. We sunk at every step almost knee-deep in the snow, and though we found tolerable footing at the bottom, yet the weak parts of the ice not being discoverable, we were constantly exposed to the risk of breaking through it. This accident at last actually happened to myself; for, stepping on quickly over a suspicious spot, in order to press with less weight upon it, I came upon a second, before I could stop myself, which broke under me, and in I fell. Luckily I rose clear of the ice, and a man that was a little way behind with a boat-hook, throwing it to me, I laid it across some loose pieces near me, and by that means was enabled to get upon firm ice again.

As we approached the sh.o.r.e, we found the ice, contrary to our expectations, more broken than it had been before. We were, however, again comforted by the sight of another sledge coming toward us; but instead of proceeding to our relief, the driver stopt short, and began to call out to us. I immediately held up to him Ismyloff's letters; upon which he turned about, and set off back again full speed; followed, I believe, not with the prayers of any of our party. Being at a great loss what conclusions to draw from this unaccountable behaviour, we continued our march toward the _ostrog_, with great circ.u.mspection, and when we had arrived within a quarter of a mile of it, we perceived a body of armed men marching toward us. That we might give them as little alarm, and have as peaceable an appearance as possible, the two men who had boat-hooks in their hands, were ordered into the rear, and Mr Webber and myself marched in front. The Russian party, consisting of about thirty soldiers, was headed by a decent- looking person with a cane in his hand. He halted within a few yards of us, and drew up his men in a martial and good order. I delivered to him Ismyloff's letters, and endeavoured to make him understand, as well as I could (though I afterward found in vain), that we were English, and had brought the papers from Oonalashka. After having examined us attentively, he began to conduct us toward the village, in great silence and solemnity, frequently halting his men, to form them in different manners, and make them perform several parts of their manual exercise, probably with a view to shew us, that if we had the temerity to offer any violence, we should have to deal with men who were not ignorant of their business.

Though I was all this time in my wet clothes, shivering with cold, and sufficiently inclined to the most unconditional submission, without having my fears violently alarmed, yet it was impossible not to be diverted with this military parade, notwithstanding it was attended with the most unseasonable delay. At length we arrived at the house of the commanding- officer of the party, into which we were ushered; and after no small stir in giving orders, and disposing of the military without doors, our host made his appearance, accompanied by another person, whom we understood to be the secretary of the port. One of Ismyloff's letters was now opened, and the other sent off by a special messenger to Bolcheretsk, a town on the west side of the peninsula of Kamtschatka, where the Russian commander of this province usually resides.

It is very remarkable, that they had not seen the ship the preceding day, when we came to anchor in the bay, nor indeed this morning, till our boats were pretty near the ice. The panic with which the discovery had struck them, we found had been very considerable. The garrison was immediately put under arms. Two small field-pieces were placed at the entrance of the commander's house, and pointed toward our boats; and shot, powder, and lighted matches, were all ready at hand.

The officer, in whose house we were at present entertained, was a serjeant, and the commander of the _ostrog_. Nothing could exceed the kindness and hospitality of his behaviour, after he recovered from the alarm occasioned by our arrival. We found the house insufferably hot, but exceedingly neat and clean. After I had changed my clothes, which the serjeant's civility enabled me to do, by furnishing me with a complete suit of his own, we were invited to sit down to dinner, which I have no doubt was the best he could procure; and, considering the shortness of time he had to provide it, was managed with some ingenuity. As there was not time to prepare soup and _bouilli_, we had in their stead some cold beef, sliced, with hot water poured over it. We had next a large bird roasted, of a species with which I was unacquainted, but of a very excellent taste. After having eaten a part of this, it was taken off, and we were served with fish dressed two different ways; and soon after the bird again made its appearance, in savory and sweet _pates_. Our liquor, of which I shall have to speak hereafter, was of the kind called by the Russians _qua.s.s_, and was much the worst part of the entertainment. The serjeant's wife brought in several of the dishes herself, and was not permitted to sit down at table. Having finished our repast, during which it is hardly necessary to remark, that our conversation was confined to a few bows, and other signs of mutual respect, we endeavoured to open to our host the cause and objects of our visit to this port. As Ismyloff had probably written to them on the same subject, in the letters we had before delivered, he appeared very readily to conceive our meaning; but as there was unfortunately no one in the place that could talk any other language except Russian or Kamtschadale, we found the utmost difficulty in comprehending the information he meant to convey to us. After some time spent in these endeavours to understand one another, we conceived the sum of the intelligence we had procured to be, that though no supply, either of provisions or naval stores, was to be had at this place, yet that these articles were in great plenty at Bolcheretsk; that the commander would most probably be very willing to give us what we wanted; but that till the serjeant had received orders from him, neither he nor his people, nor the natives, could even venture to go on board the ship.

It was now time for us to take our leave; and, as my clothes were still too wet to put on, I was obliged to have recourse again to the serjeant's benevolence, for his leave to carry those I had borrowed of him on board.

This request was complied with very cheerfully; and a sledge, drawn by five dogs, with a driver, was immediately provided for each of our party. The sailors were highly delighted with this mode of conveyance; and what diverted them still more was, that the two boat-hooks had also a sledge appropriated to themselves. These sledges are so light, and their construction so well adapted to the purposes for which they are intended, that they went with great expedition, and perfect safety, over the ice, which it would have been, impossible for us, with all our caution, to have pa.s.sed on foot.

On our return, we found the boats towing the ship toward the village; and at seven we got close to the ice, and moored with the small bower to the N.E., and best bower to the S.W.; the entrance of the bay bearing S. by E., and S. 3/4 E.; and the _ostrog_ N., 1/4 E., distant one mile and a half.

The next morning the casks and cables were got upon the quarter-deck, in order to lighten the ship forward; and the carpenters were set to work to stop the leak, which had given us so much trouble daring our last run. It was found to have been occasioned by the falling of some sheathing from the larboard-bow, and the oak.u.m between the planks having been washed out. The warm weather we had in the middle of the day, began to make the ice break away very fast, which, drifting with the tide, had almost filled up the entrance of the bay. Several of our gentlemen paid their visits to the serjeant, by whom they were received with great civility; and Captain Clerke sent him two bottles of rum, which he understood would be the most acceptable present he could make him, and received in return some fine fowls of the grouse kind, and twenty trouts. Our sportsmen met with but bad success; for though the bay swarmed with flocks of ducks of various kinds, and Greenland pigeons, yet they were so shy that they could not come within shot of them.

In the morning of the 1st of May, seeing the Discovery standing into the bay, a boat was immediately sent to her a.s.sistance; and in the afternoon she moored close by us. They told us, that after the weather cleared up on the 28th, they found themselves to leeward of the bay; and that when they got abreast of it the following day, and saw the entrance choked up with ice, they stood off, after firing guns, concluding we could not be here; but finding afterward it was only loose drift ice, they had ventured in.

The next day the weather was so very unsettled, attended with heavy showers of snow, that the carpenters were not able to proceed in their work. The thermometer stood at 28 in the evening, and the frost was exceedingly severe in the night.

The following morning, on our observing two sledges drive into the village, Captain Clerke sent me on sh.o.r.e, to enquire whether any message was arrived from the commander of Kamtschatka, which, according to the serjeant's account, might now be expected, in consequence of the intelligence that had been sent of our arrival. Bolcheretsk, by the usual route, is about one hundred and thirty-five English miles from Saint Peter and Saint Paul's.

Our dispatches were sent off in a sledge drawn by dogs, on the 29th, about noon. And the answer arrived, as we afterward found, early this morning; so that they were only a little more than three days and a half in performing a journey of two hundred and seventy miles.

The return of the commander's answer was, however, concealed from us for the present; and I was told, on my arrival at the serjeant's, that we should hear from him the next day. Whilst I was on sh.o.r.e, the boat which had brought me, together with another belonging to the Discovery, were set fast in the ice, which a southerly wind had driven from the other side of the bay. On seeing them entangled, the Discovery's launch had been sent to their a.s.sistance, but shared the same fate; and in a short time the ice had surrounded them near a quarter of a mile deep. This obliged us to stay on sh.o.r.e till evening, when, finding no prospect of getting the boats off, some of us went in sledges to the edge of the ice, and were taken off by boats sent from the ship, and the rest staid on sh.o.r.e all night.

It continued to freeze hard during the night; but before morning, on the 4th, a change of wind drifted away the floating ice, and set the boats at liberty, without their having sustained the smallest damage.

About ten o'clock in the forenoon, we saw several sledges driving down to the edge of the ice, and sent a boat to conduct the persons who were in them on board. One of these was a Russian merchant, from Bolcheretsk, named Fedositch, and the other a German, called Port, who had brought a letter from Major Behm, the commander of Kamtschatka, to Captain Clerke. When they got to the edge of the ice, and saw distinctly the size of the ships, which lay within about two hundred yards from them, they appeared to be exceedingly alarmed; and, before they would venture to embark, desired two of our boat's crew might be left on sh.o.r.e as hostages for their safety. We afterward found, that Ismyloff, in his letter to the commander, had misrepresented us, for what reasons we could not conceive, as two small trading boats; and that the serjeant, who had only seen the ships at a distance, had not in his dispatches rectified the mistake.

When they arrived on board, we still found, from their cautious and timorous behaviour, that they were under some unaccountable apprehensions; and an uncommon degree of satisfaction was visible in their countenances, on the German's finding a person amongst us with whom he could converse.

This was Mr Webber, who spoke that language perfectly well; and at last, though with some difficulty, convinced them that we were Englishmen and friends. Mr Port, being introduced to Captain Clerke, delivered to him the commander's letter, which was written in German, and was merely complimental, inviting him and his officers to Bolcheretsk, to which place the people who brought it were to conduct us. Mr Port, at the same time acquainted him, that the major had conceived a very wrong idea of the size of the ships, and of the service we were engaged in; Ismyloff, in his letter, having represented us as two small English packet boats, and cautioned him to be on his guard; insinuating, that he suspected us to be no better than pirates. In consequence of this letter, he said there had been various conjectures formed about us at Bolcheretsk; that the major thought it most probable we were on a trading scheme, and for that reason had sent down a merchant to us; but that the officer, who was second in command, was of opinion we were French, and come with some hostile intention, and was for taking measures accordingly. It had required, he added, all the major's authority to keep the inhabitants from leaving the town, and retiring up into the country, to so extraordinary a pitch had their fears risen from their persuasion that we were French.

Their extreme apprehensions of that nation were princ.i.p.ally occasioned by some circ.u.mstances attending an insurrection that had happened at Bolcheretsk, a few years before, in which the commander had lost his life.

We were informed, that an exiled Polish officer, named Beniowski, taking advantage of the confusion into which the town was thrown, had seized upon a galliot, then lying at the entrance of the Bolchoireka, and had forced on board a number of Russian sailors, sufficient to navigate her; that he had put on sh.o.r.e a part of the crew at the Kourile Islands, and among the rest, Ismyloff, who, as the reader will recollect, had puzzled us exceedingly at Oonalashka, with the history of this transaction; though, for want of understanding his language, we could not often make out all the circ.u.mstances attending it; that he pa.s.sed in sight of j.a.pan; made Luconia; and was there directed how to steer to Canton; that arriving there, he had applied to the French, and had got a pa.s.sage in one of their India ships to France; and that most of the Russians had likewise returned to Europe in French ships, and had afterward found their way to Petersburg. We met with three of Beniowski's crew in the harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul; and from them we learnt the circ.u.mstances of the above story.

On our arrival at Canton, we received a farther corroboration, of the facts from the gentlemen of the English factory; who told us, that a person had arrived there in a Russian galliot, who said he came from Kamtschatka, and that he had been furnished by the French factory with a pa.s.sage to Europe.[14]

We could not help being much diverted with the fears and apprehensions of these good people, and particularly with the account Mr Port gave us of the serjeant's wary proceedings the day before. On seeing me come on sh.o.r.e, in company with some other gentlemen, he had made him and the merchant, who arrived in the sledges we had seen come in the morning, hide themselves in his kitchen, and listen to our conversation with one another, in hopes that by this means they might discover whether we were really English or not.

As we concluded, from the commission and dress of Mr Port, that he might probably he the commander's secretary, he was received as such, and invited, with his companion, the merchant, to dine with Captain Clerke; and though we soon began to suspect, from the behaviour of the latter toward him, that he was only a common servant, yet this being no time to sacrifice our little comforts to our pride, we prevented an explanation, by not suffering the question to be put to him; and, in return for the satisfaction we reaped from his abilities as a linguist, we continued to let him live on a footing of equality with us.

[12] It is highly probable that there are several small islands or rocks in the vicinity of this track, the discovery of which would at least benefit navigation. Thus we are told by Captain Krusenstern, an authority to which we are always glad to appeal, that he saw in lat.i.tude 17, and longitude 169 30', an extraordinary number of birds, that hovered round his ship in flocks of upwards of a hundred, from which he inferred his having pa.s.sed near some island, which served as a resting place for them. In confirmation of this opinion, he informs us, that La Perouse in 1786, and an English merchantman in 1796, discovered west of the Sandwich Islands, the first in the parallel of 22, and the latter in that of 18, two small rocky islands both extremely dangerous; and that the Nero in her pa.s.sage from America to China in 1805, found near this place a very dangerous sand island, viz. in 173 35' 45" W., and 26 2' 48" N. It is perhaps to be regretted, that Krusenstern, who, a few days after the date of the remark now quoted, crossed Captain Clerke's course, should have so resolutely endeavoured, as he says he did, and that too with tolerable success, not to approach the track of that officer nearer than by a hundred or a hundred and twenty miles. It is evident, that, within a smaller distance, he might have made some useful discovery, without, in any measure, endangering his own reputation, as a mere follower in the footsteps of others. Here it may be added, that his course was more northerly than Clerke's, and that he did not experience any of those swells so soon complained of by Captain King.--E.

[13] Voyages made by the Russians from Asia to America, &c., translated from the German, by T. Jeffereys, p. 37.

[14] It hath since appeared, from the Account of Kerguelen's Voyage, that this extraordinary person, who had entered into the French service, was commander of a new settlement at Madagascar, when Kerguelen touched there in 1774.

SECTION II.

Scarcity of Provisions and Stores at the Harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.--A Party set out to visit the Commander at Bolcheretsk.--Pa.s.sage up the River Awatska.--Account of their Reception by the Toion of Karatchin.-- Description of a Kamtschadale Dress.--Journey on Sledges.--Description of this Mode of Travelling.--Arrival at Natcheekin.--Account of Hot Springs.--Embark on the Bolchoireka.--Reception at the Capital.--Generous and hospitable Conduct of the Commander and the Garrison.--Description of Bolcheretsk.--Presents from the Commander.--Russian and Kamtschadale Dancing.--Affecting Departure from Bolcheretsk.--Return to Saint Peter and Saint Paul's, accompanied by Major Behm, who visits the Ships.--Generosity of the Sailors.--Dispatches sent by Major Behm to Petersburg.--His Departure, and Character.

Being now enabled to converse with the Russians, by the aid of our interpreter, with tolerable facility, our first enquiries were directed to the means of procuring a supply of fresh provisions and naval stores; from the want of which latter article, in particular, we had been for some time in great distress. On enquiry, it appeared, that the whole stock of live cattle, which the country about the bay could furnish, amounted only to two heifers; and these the serjeant very readily promised to procure us. Our applications were next made to the merchant, but we found the terms upon which he offered to serve us so exorbitant, that Captain Clerke thought it necessary to send an officer to visit the commander at Bolcheretsk, and to enquire into the price of stores at that place. As soon as this determination was communicated to Mr Port, he dispatched an express to the commander to inform him of our intentions, and at the same time to clear us from the suspicions that were entertained with respect to the designation and purposes of our voyage.

Captain Clerke having thought proper to fix on me for this service, I received orders, together with Mr Webber, who was to accompany me as interpreter, to be ready to set out the next day. It proved, however, too stormy, as did also the 6th, for beginning a journey through so wild and desolate a country; but on the 7th, the weather appearing more favourable, we set out early in the morning in the ship's boats, with a view to reach the entrance of the Awatska at high water, on account of the shoals with which the mouth of that river abounds; here the country boats were to meet us, and carry us up the stream.

Captain Gore was now added to our party, and we were attended by Messrs Port and Fedositsch, with two cossacks, and were provided by our conductors with warm furred clothing; a precaution which we soon found very necessary, as it began to snow briskly just after we set out. At eight o'clock, being stopped by shoal water, about a mile from the mouth of the river, some small canoes, belonging to the Kamtschadales, took up us and our baggage, and carried us over a spit of sand, which is thrown up by the rapidity of the river, and which they told us was continually shifting. When we had crossed this shoal, the water again deepened, and here we found a commodious boat, built and shaped like a Norway yawl, ready to convey us up the river, together with canoes for our baggage.

The mouth of the Awatska is about a quarter of a mile broad, and, as we advanced, it narrowed very gradually. After we had proceeded a few miles, we pa.s.sed several branches, which, we were told, emptied themselves into other parts of the bay; and that some of those on the left hand flowed into the Paratounca river. Its general direction from the bay, for the first ten miles, is to the north, after which it turns to the westward; this bend excepted, it preserves for the most part a straight course; and the country through which it flows, to the distance of near thirty miles from the sea, is low and flat, and subject to frequent inundations. We were pushed forward by six men, with long poles, three at each end of the boat, two of whom were cossacks, the others Kamtschadales, and advanced against a strong stream, at the rate, as well as I could judge, of about three miles an hour. Our Kamtshadales bore this severe labour with great stoutness for ten hours, during which we stopped only once, and that for a short time, whilst they took some little refreshment. As we had been told, at our first setting out in the morning, that we should easily reach an _ostrog_, called Karatchin, the same night, we were much disappointed to find ourselves, at sunset, fifteen miles from that place. This we attributed to the delay occasioned in pa.s.sing the shoals we had met with, both at the entrance of the river, and in several other places as we proceeded up it; for our boat being the first that had pa.s.sed up the river, the guides were not acquainted with the situation of the shifting sand-banks, and unfortunately the snow not having yet begun to melt, the shallowness of the river was at its extreme.

The fatigue our men had already undergone, and the difficulty of navigating the river, which would have been much increased by the darkness of the night, obliged us to give up all thoughts of continuing our journey that evening. Having therefore found a place tolerably sheltered, and cleared it of the snow, we erected a small _marquee_, which we had brought with us; and, by the a.s.sistance of a brisk fire, and some good punch, pa.s.sed the night not very unpleasantly. The only inconvenience we laboured under was, the being obliged to make the fire at some distance from us. For, although the ground was to all appearance dry enough before, yet when the fire was alighted, it soon thawed all the parts round it into an absolute puddle. We admired much the alertness and expedition with which the Kamtschadales erected our _marquee_, and cooked our provisions; but what was most unexpected, we found they had brought with them their tea-kettles; considering it as the greatest of hardships not to drink tea two or three times a day.

We set out as soon as it was light in the morning, and had not advanced far, before we were met by the _Toion_, or chief of Karatchin, who had been apprised of our coming, and had provided canoes that were lighter, and better contrived for navigating the higher parts of the river. A commodious vessel, consisting of two canoes, lashed close together with cross spars, lined with bear-skins, and furnished with fur-cloaks, was also provided for us. We now went on very rapidly, the _Toion's_ people being both stout and fresh, and remarkable for their expertness in this business. At ten we got to the _ostrog_, the seat of his command, where we were received at the water-side by the Kamtschadale men and women, and some Russian servants belonging to Fedositsch, who were employed in making canoes. They were all dressed out in their best clothes. Those of the women were pretty and gay, consisting of a full loose robe of white nankeen, gathered close round the neck, and fastened with a collar of coloured silk. Over this they wore a short jacket without sleeves, made of different-coloured nankeens, and petticoats of a slight Chinese silk. Their shirts, which had sleeves down to the wrist, were also of silk; and coloured silk handkerchiefs were bound round their heads, concealing entirely the hair of the married women, whilst those who were unmarried brought the handkerchief under the hair, and suffered it to flow loose behind.

This _ostrog_ was pleasantly situated by the side of the river, and consisted of three log-houses, three _jourts_, or houses made under ground, and nineteen _balagans_, or summer habitations. We were conducted to the tent of the _Toion_, who was a plain decent man, born of a Russian woman, by a Kamtschadale father. His house, like all the rest in this country, was divided into two apartments. A long narrow table, with a bench round it, was all the furniture we saw in the outer; and the household stuff of the inner, which was the kitchen, was not less simple and scanty. But the kind attention of our host, and the hearty welcome we received, more than compensated for the poverty of his lodgings.

His wife proved an excellent cook, and served us with fish and game of different sorts, and various kinds of heath-berries, that had been kept since the last year. Whilst we were at dinner in this miserable hut, the guests of a people, with whose existence we had before been scarce acquainted, and at the extremity of the habitable globe, a solitary, half- worn pewter spoon, whose shape was familiar to us, attracted our attention; and, on examination, we found it stamped on the back with the word _London_. I cannot pa.s.s over this circ.u.mstance in silence, out of grat.i.tude for the many pleasant thoughts, the anxious hopes, and tender remembrances it excited in us. Those who have experienced the effects that long absence and extreme distance from their native county produce on the mind, will readily conceive the pleasure such trifling incidents can give. To the philosopher and politician they may perhaps suggest reflections of a different nature.[15]

We were now to quit the river, and perform the next part of our journey on sledges; but the thaw had been too powerful in the day-time to allow us to set out till the cold of the evening had again made the surface of the snow hard and firm. This gave us an opportunity of walking about the village, which was the only place we had yet seen free from snow since we landed in this country. It stood upon a well-wooded flat, about a mile and a half in circ.u.mference. The leaves were just budding, and the verdure of the whole scene was strongly contrasted with the sides of the surrounding hills, which were still covered with snow. As the soil appeared to me very capable of producing all the common sorts of garden vegetables, I was greatly surprised not to find the smallest spot any where cultivated. If to this we add, that none of the inhabitants were possessed of cattle of any sort, nothing can be well conceived more wretched than their situation must be during the winter months.[16] They were at this time removing from their _jourts_ into their _balagans_, which afforded us an opportunity of examining both these sorts of habitations; and they will be hereafter more particularly described. The people invited us into their houses with great good humour; a general air of cheerfulness and content was every where visible, to which the approaching change of season might probably not a little contribute.

On our return to the _Toion's_, we found supper prepared for us, which differed in nothing from our former repast; and concluded with our treating the _Toion_ and his wife with some of the spirits we had brought with us, made into punch. Captain Gore, who had great generosity on all occasions, having afterward made them some valuable presents, they retired to the kitchen, leaving us in possession of the outward room, where, spreading our bear-skins on the benches, we were glad to get a little repose, having settled with our conductors to resume our journey as soon as the ground should be judged fit for travelling.

About nine o'clock the same evening we were awakened by the melancholy howlings of the dogs, which continued all the time our baggage was lashing upon the sledges; but as soon as they were yoked, and we were all prepared to set out, this changed into a light cheerful yelping, which, entirely ceased the instant they marched off. But before we set out, the reader may expect to be made more particularly acquainted with this curious mode of travelling.

The body of the sledge is about four feet and a half long, and a foot wide, made in the form of a crescent, of light tough wood, strongly bound together with wicker-work; which, in those belonging to the better sort of people, is elegantly stained of a red and blue colour, and the seat covered with bear-skins, or other furs. It is supported by four legs, about two feet high, which rest on two long flat pieces of wood, five or six inches broad, extending a foot at each end beyond the body of the sledge. These are turned up before in the manner of a skate, and shod with the bone of some sea-animal. The fore-part of the carriage is ornamented with thongs of leather and ta.s.sels of coloured cloth; and from the cross-bar, to which the harness is joined, are hung links of iron, or small bells, the jingling of which they conceive to be encouraging to the dogs. They are seldom used to carry more than one person at a time, who sits aside, resting his feet on the lower part of the sledge, and carrying his provisions and other necessaries, wrapped up in a bundle, behind him. The dogs are usually five in number, yoked two and two, with a leader. The reins, not being fastened to the head of the dogs, but to the collars, have little power over them, and are therefore generally hung upon the sledge, whilst the driver depends entirely on their obedience to his voice for the direction of them. With this view, the leader is always trained up with a particular degree of care and attention; some of them rising to a most extraordinary value on account of their docility and steadiness; insomuch, that for one of these, I am well a.s.sured, forty roubles (or ten pounds) was no unusual price. The driver is also provided with a crooked stick, which answers the purpose both of whip and reins; as, by striking it into the snow, he is enabled to moderate the speed of the dogs, or even to stop them entirely; and when they are lazy, or otherwise inattentive to his voice, he chastises them by throwing it at them. Upon these occasions their dexterity in picking it up again is very remarkable, and forms the princ.i.p.al difficulty of their art.

But it is indeed not surprising that they should labour to be skilful in a practice upon which their safety so materially depends. For they say, that if the driver should happen to lose his stick, the dogs will instantly perceive it; and unless their leader be of the most sober and resolute kind, they will immediately run a-head full speed, and never stop till they are quite spent. But as that will not be the case soon, it generally happens that either the carriage is overturned, and dashed to pieces against the trees, or they hurry down some precipice, and are all buried in the snow. The accounts that were given us of the speed of these dogs, and of their extraordinary patience of hunger and fatigue, were scarcely credible, if they had not been supported by the best authority. We were indeed ourselves witnesses of the great expedition with which the messenger, who had been dispatched to Bolcheretsk with the news of our arrival, returned to the harbour of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, though the snow was at this time exceedingly soft. But I was informed, by the commander of Kamtschatka, that this journey was generally performed in two days and a half; and that he had once received an express from the latter place in twenty-three hours.

The dogs are fed, during the winter, on the offals of dried and stinking fish; but are always deprived of this miserable food a day before they set out on a journey, and never suffered to eat before they reach the end of it. We were also told, that it was not unusual for them to continue thus fasting two entire days, in which time they would perform a journey of one hundred and twenty miles.[17] These dogs are in shape somewhat like the Pomeranian breed, but considerably larger.

As we did not choose to trust to our own skill, we had each of us a man to drive and guide the sledge, which, from the state the roads were now in, proved a very laborious business. For, as the thaw had advanced very considerably in the vallies, through which our road lay, we were under the necessity of keeping along the sides of the hills; and this obliged our guides, who were provided with snow-shoes for that purpose, to support the sledges, on the lower side, with their shoulders, for several miles together. I had a very good-humoured cossack to attend me, who was, however, so very unskilful in his business, that we were overturned almost every minute, to the great entertainment of the rest of the company. Our party consisted in all of ten sledges. That in which Captain Gore was carried, was made of two lashed together, and abundantly provided with furs and bear-skins; it had ten dogs, yoked four a-breast; as had also some of those that were heavy laden with baggage.

When we had proceeded about four miles it began to rain; which, added to the darkness of the night, threw us all into confusion. It was at last agreed, that we should remain where we were till day-light; and accordingly we came to anchor in the snow, (for I cannot better express the manner in which the sledges were secured,) and wrapping ourselves up in our furs, waited patiently for the morning. About three o'clock we were called on to set out, our guides being apprehensive, that if we waited longer we might be stopped by the thaw, and neither be able to proceed nor to return. After encountering many difficulties, which were princ.i.p.ally occasioned by the bad condition of the road, at two in the afternoon we got safe to an _ostrog_, called Natcheekin, situated on the side of a small stream which falls into the Bolchoireka, a little way below the town. The distance between Karatchin and Natcheekin is thirty-eight wersts (or twenty-five miles;) and had the hard frost continued, we should not, by their account, have been more than four hours in performing it; but the snow was so soft, that the dogs, almost at every step, sunk up to their bellies; and I was indeed much surprised at their being at all able to overcome the difficulties of so fatiguing a journey.

Natcheekin is a very inconsiderable _ostrog_, having only one log-house, the residence of the _Toion_; five _balagans_, and one _jourt_. We were received here with the same formalities, and in the same hospitable manner, as at Karatchin; and in the afternoon we went to visit a remarkable hot- spring, which is near this village. We saw at some distance the steam rising from it as from a boiling cauldron; and as we approached, perceived the air had a strong sulphureous smell. The main spring forms a bason of about three feet in diameter; besides which there are a number of lesser springs, of the same degree of heat, in the adjacent ground; so that the whole spot, to the extent of near an acre, was so hot, that we could not stand two minutes in the same place. The water flowing from these springs is collected in a small bathing pond, and afterwards forms a little rivulet, which, at the distance of about an hundred and fifty yards, falls into the river. The bath, they told us, had wrought great cures in several disorders, such as rheumatisms, swelled and contracted joints, and s...o...b..tic ulcers. In the bathing place the thermometer stood at 100, or blood heat; but in the spring, after being immersed two minutes, it was 1 above boiling spirits. The thermometer in the air, at this time was 34; in the river 40; and in the _Toion's_ house 64. The ground where these springs break out is on a gentle ascent; behind which there is a green hill of a moderate size. I am sorry I was not sufficiently skilled in botany to examine the plants, which seemed to thrive here with great luxuriance; the wild garlic, indeed, forced itself on our notice, and was at this time springing up very vigorously.

The next morning we embarked on the Bolchoireka in canoes; and having the stream with us, expected to be at our journey's end the day following. The town of Bolcheretsk is about eighty miles from Natcheekin; and we were informed, that, in the summer season, when the river has been full and rapid, from the melting of snow on the mountains, the canoes had often gone down in a single day; but that, in its present state, we should probably be much longer, as the ice had broken up only three days before we arrived; and that ours would be the first boat that had attempted to pa.s.s. This intelligence proved but too true. We found ourselves greatly impeded by the shallows; and though the stream in many places ran with great rapidity, yet in every half mile we had ripplings and shoals, over which we had to haul the boats.[18] The country on each side was very romantic, but unvaried; the river running between mountains of the most craggy and barren aspect, where there was nothing to diversify the scene but now and then the sight of a bear, and the flights of wild fowl. So uninteresting a pa.s.sage leaves me nothing farther to say, than that this, and the following night, we slept on the banks of the river, under our _marquee_, and suffered very much from the severity of the weather, and the snow, which still remained on the ground.

At day-light, on the 12th, we found we had got clear of the mountains, and were entering a low extensive plain, covered with shrubby trees. About nine in the forenoon, we arrived at an _ostrog_, called Opatchin, which is computed to be fifty miles from Natcheekin, and is nearly of the same size as Karatchin. We found here a serjeant, with four Russian soldiers, who had been two days waiting for our arrival, and who immediately dispatched a light boat to Bolcheretsk, with intelligence of our approach. We were now put into the trammels of formality; a canoe, furnished with skins and furs, and equipped in a magnificent manner, was prepared for our reception, in which we were accommodated much at our ease, but to the exclusion of the rest of our fellow-travellers. It was with much regret we found ourselves obliged to separate from our old companion Monsieur Port, whom we had observed to grow every day more shy and distant as we drew nearer the end of our journey. Indeed, he had himself told us, before we set out, that we paid him a respect he had no t.i.tle to; but as we had found him a very modest and discreet man, we had insisted on his living with us during the whole of our journey. The remainder of our pa.s.sage was performed with great facility and expedition, the river growing more rapid as we descended, and less obstructed by shoals.

As we approached the capital, we were sorry to observe, from an appearance of much stir and bustle, that we were to be received in form. Decent clothes had been for some time a scarce commodity amongst us; and our travelling dresses were made up of a burlesque mixture of European, Indian, and Kamtschadale fashions. We therefore thought it would be too ridiculous to make a parade in this trim through the metropolis of Kamtschatka; and, as we saw a crowd collected on the banks of the river, and were told the commander would be at the water-side to receive us, we stopped short, at a soldier's house, about a quarter of a mile from the town, from whence we sent Port, with a message to his excellency, acquainting him, that the moment we had put off our travelling dresses, we would pay our respects to him at his own house; and to beg he would not think of waiting to conduct us. Finding, however, that he persisted in his intentions of paying us this compliment, we lost no farther time in attiring ourselves, but made all the haste in our power to join him at the entrance of the town. I observed my companions to be as awkward as I felt myself in making our first salutations; bowing and sc.r.a.ping being marks of good breeding, that we had now, for two years and a half, been totally unaccustomed to. The manner in which we were received by the commander, was the most engaging that could be conceived, and increased my mortification at finding that he had almost entirely forgot the French language; so that the satisfaction of conversing with him was wholly confined to Mr Webber, who spoke the German, his native tongue.

In company with Major Behm was Captain Shmaleff, the second in command, and another officer, with the whole body of the merchants of the place. They conducted us to the commander's house, where we were received by his lady with great civility, and found tea and other refreshments prepared for us.

After the first compliments were over, Mr Webber was desired to acquaint the major with the object of our journey, with our want of naval stores, flour, and fresh provisions, and other necessaries for the ship's crews, and at the same time to a.s.sure him, that we were sensible, from what we had already seen of the condition of the country about Awatska Bay, we could not expect much a.s.sistance from him in that quarter; that the impossibility of sending heavy stores across the peninsula during the present season of the year, was but too apparent, from the difficulties we had met with in our journey; and that, long before any material change could take place, we should be under the necessity of proceeding on our voyage. We were here interrupted by the commander, who observed, that we did not yet know what they were capable of doing; that, at least, it was not his business to think of the difficulties of supplying our wants, but only to learn what were the articles we stood in need of, and the longest time we could allow him for procuring them. After expressing our sense of his obliging disposition, we gave him a list of our naval stores, the number of cattle, and the quant.i.ty of flour we were directed to purchase, and told him that we purposed recommencing our voyage about the 5th of June.

Our conversation afterward turned upon different subjects; and it will naturally be supposed that our enquiries were princ.i.p.ally directed to the obtaining some information respecting our own country. Having now been absent three years, we had flattered ourselves with the certainty of receiving intelligence from Major Behm, which could not fail of being interesting; and I cannot express the disappointment we felt, on finding that he had no news to communicate of a much later date than that of our departure from England.