Overland Explorations in Siberia, Northern Asia, and the Great Amoor River Country ... With map and plan of an overland telegraph around the world, etc

Front matter

OVERLAND EXPLORATIONS IN SIBERIA, NORTHERN ASIA, AND THE GREAT AMOOR RIYER COUNTRY; INCIDENTAL NOTICES OF MANCHOORIA, MONGOLIA, KAMSCHATKA, AND JAPAN, WITH MAP AND PLAN OF AN OVERLAND TELEGRAPH AROUND THE WORLD, VIA BEHRING'S STRAIT AND ASIATIC RUSSIA TO EUROPE. DY MAJOR PERRY McD. COLLffiS, 00__n__EECIAL AGENT OF TEE UNITED STATES OF AMEEIOA FOE THE AMOOE EIVEH. ASIATIC EUSSIA. NEW YORK: D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, __3 afc 445 BROADWAY. 1864. Ekteeed, according to Act os Congress, in the year 1860, fcy D. APPLETON & CO., In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. TO LIEUTENANT-GENERAL MOURAVIEFF, SOYEENOB-OENEEAL OP EA6TEEN _I1.EF.IA, COTOT OT THE AHOOS, etc., etc., THIS VOLUME 18 K E S P E C TT U LLT INSCRIBED, IN TOKEN OP ADMIRATION AND GEAT1TUDE, ONE WHO HAS SHARED HIS GENEROUS HOSPITALITY, AND WITNESSED THE NOBLE RESULTS OP HIS PEOFOU2ID AND BENEFICENT POLICY ON THE AMOOB BIYEB.

Preface

. My attention was first turned towards Siberia by the perusal of Lieutenant Von Wrangel's narrative of an expedition to the Polar Sea. Reflecting on the vast extent of the country, its mighty rivers, its stately and boundless forests, its immense mineral wealth, I was struck with the magnitude of its natural resources, and with its possible value to the commerce of the world, if it could only obtain an easy outlet to the ocean. For several years previous to 1855, while residing in California, I had given much study to the commercial resources of the Pacific side of the United States, especially in connection with the opposite coast of Asia. I had already fixed in my own mind upon the river Amoor as the destined channel by which American commercial enterprise was to penetrate the obscure depths of North ern Asia, and open a new world to trade and civilization, when news arrived in 1855 that the Russians had taken possession of the Amoor country, and formed a settlement at the mouth of the river.

Greatly interested by this event, the important consequences of which my previous speculations enabled me fully to comprehend, I proceeded to Washington in search of accurate information on the subject. Little was known in California about the Amoor, with which no direct communication had then PBEFACE. been effected. To have gone to the mouth of the river myself, as I was strongly inclined to do, would have required me to charter a vessel for the express purpose, and this I was scarcely able to afford. And besides, on arriving there, a private adventurer, without credentials, I could have no assurance of being permitted to ascend the river or explore the country. What I chiefly desired was to examine the whole length of the Amoor, and ascertain its fitness for steamboat navigation. That point settled in the affirmative, everything else was sure to fol low as a matter of course.

At Washington, I had conferences with President Pierce, Secretary Marcy, and the Russian Ambassador, which resulted in my appointment, March 24, 1856, as Commercial Agent of the United States for the Amoor River. Armed with this commission, and with letters to influ ential personages at St. Petersburg, I started without delay for the Russian Capital, resolved to traverse the empire from West to East, cross Siberia, enter Tartary, and, if possible, descend the Amoor river from its source to its mouth. I sailed from New York April 12, 1856, and she result of my travels and voyages is here submitted to the public. CONTENTS. OHAFTEB PAOI I. Departure for Siberia S II. From Moscow to Nijne-Novgorod 10 HL Nijne-Novgorod — the great Fair 15 IV. From Nijne to Ekaterinburg 23 V. From Ekaterinburg to Omsk 30 VI.

From Omsk to Irkutsk 38 VH. Irkutsk 49 VIII. Irkutsk continued 66 IX. Irkutsk continued. 58 X. From Irkutsk to Kyachta 64 XI. Kyachta and Mia-mat-tschin... 70 Xn. The Feast of Lanterns 73 XIH. A Russian Dinner 79 XTV. Return to Irkutsk 89 XV. From Irkutsk to Petrovskey 92 XVI. From Petrovskey to Verchne-Udinsk 96 XVH. From Verchne-Udinsk to Chetah 99 XVIH. A Visit to the Mines of Nerchinsk 106 XIX. The Silver Mines of Zarentnnskie 113 XX. The Cossacks of the Argoon 119 XXI. The Gold Mines of the Onon. 122 XXIL Passage of Mount Bornorskoy 128 XXIU. From Nerchinsk to Chetah 131 XXIV. Residence at Chetah 135 XXV. A Burat Lama 139 XXVI. A Wild-goose Chase 114 XXVn. Departure from Chetah 150 XXVHI. Down the Ingodah 156 XXIX. A Mineral Spring CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGB XXX. FromBankinto Schilkah 165 XXXI.

From Schilkah to Ouse-Cherney 171 XXXH. From Russian into Chinese Waters 175 XXXIII. First View of the Amoor 179 XXXIV. From Ouse-Strelkah to Albasin 183 XXXV. Floating Along. 188 XXXVI. A Mangoon Camp 192 XXXVII. Manchoo Visitors 197 XXXVHI. A Manchoo Guard-boat 202 XXXIX. Arrival at Igoon 207 XL. Departure from Igoon 212 XLI. Manchoo Spies 216 XLII. A Manchoo Village 222 XLIII. A Tartar Beauty 228 XLIV. Manchoo Junks 233 XLV. The Songahree 237 XLVX Russian Progress 242 XLVII. Floating Along 247 XLVin. Floating Along 251 XLIX. The Navigation 256 L. Native Villages 262 LI. The Hongahree 268 LH A Goldee Village 274 LIII. Kah-oor-me 279 LIV. Female Sailors 283 I.V. A Night of Danger 287 LVI. Ancient Monuments 292 LVH. The Monuments 298 LVIII. Arrival at Nikolaivsky 306 LIX. Nikolaivsky 3X1 LX.

American Residents 316 LXI. Voyage to Japan 321 LXII. Hakodadi wm 329 LXIIL To Kamschatka _ 335 LXIV. A Warm Spring 341 LXV. Stay at Petropaulosky 348 LXVI. The Burning Mountain 352 LXVII. Character of the Amoor Country. 357 LXVIII. Natives on the Amoor 3gg LXIX. Trade and resources of Siberia 373 LXX. The Amoor Railroad 3gg A VOYAGE DOWS THE AMOOR.

Chapter I. Departure For Siberia

On the 17th of May, 1856, I reached Cronstadt in the first steamer that had entered the port that year, and was the only passenger on board. For three days we had been detained by ice in the Gulf of Finland. For two more days I was kept at Cronstadt in consequence of my passport having no vise of a Russian Consul in the United States, as is required by the police regulations of the empire. At the end of that time, however, the mat ter was satisfactorily explained, and I was permitted to enter St. Petersburg. My main object at the Russian capital was to get the permission of the imperial government to traverse Siberia and explore the Amoor River, which I was resolved to descend, if possible, from its head waters to its mouth. Little, however, could be done in this direction during the absence of General Mouravieff, the distinguished Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, to whom my applica tion had been referred by the imperial government, and who was then on a visit to Germany.

I waited patiently for his return through the months of June and July, occupying myself with observing the manners and customs and studying the language of the Russians, and in en joying the hospitalities with which I was honored through the kindness of the United States Minister, Governor Seymour of Connecticut. Early in August General Mouravieff reached St. Petersburg. I waited upon him at his lodgings in com pany with Governor Seymour. He received me with great kindness, and warmly expressed his approbation of my designs, saying that he was most happy to have the opportunity to introduce an American to the Amoor. He promised that I should see the whole country and have every facility that his power and influence could procure. He intended himself to leave Moscow early in November for Irkutsk, the capital of his province.

The winter was the proper season for travelling in Siberia, as the roads were then in the best condition and could easily be tra versed by sleighs. I could accompany him on the journey, he said, or, if I preferred, could go somewhat earlier in company with an officer despatched to Siberia on public service. In the latter part of August I went, with all the rest of the world of Russia, to Moscow to attend the corona tion of His Imperial Majesty. Alexander II. After wit nessing that superb ceremonial, September 7, I remained in Moscow nearly three months, waiting till the usual fall of snow should make the roads to the eastward practica- DEPARTURE FOR SIBERIA. ble for winter travel. I continually practised myself in the Russian language, wandering daily about the streets, markets, bazaars, and shops of the city, taking my meals at the native eating-houses, many of them sufficiently curious places, drinking great quantities of tea in the tea houses, and visiting theatres, gardens, and all kind of places where I could acquire the tongue and study the hab its of the people.

Moscow, above all other cities, is the best index to Russia. There the character, the manners, and the disposition of the true Russian are seen in the highest perfection. There are found the written and the archi tectural records of the past history of the empire, and there are preserved, in all their freshness, the traditions which have such potent influence over the Russian mind. There lie buried the great princes and czars of the empire, from Rurik down to the little murdered Demetrius, and there the emperors come to be crowned from their glit tering metropolis on the marshy Neva. Every Russian looks upon Moscow with patriotic enthusiasm as the holy city, the true, national, and religious capital of his country. The emperor is not invested with full Imperial authority until he has been formally crowned in its an cient cathedral.

And, besides, the political importance which this fact, and its old associations with the national history, give to it, Moscow is rapidly acquiring additional importance as a commercial capital. It is the centre of the interior trade of the country, and affords peculiar facilities, of which I endeavored fully to avail myself, in order to become acquainted with the nature and extent of the overland trade and commerce with Siberia, and the Chinese Empire. I had good advice respecting the nature of the preparations to he made for Siberian travel, and, in company with Mr. Peyton, a countryman and friend, who had agreed to make the journey with me as far as Irkutsk, and with Captain Anakoff, an officer of the staff of Gen eral Mouravieff, I quitted Moscow December 3, 1856. We had received from General Mouravieff the follow ing passport, which we soon found was of almost magical efficiency in smoothing down difficulties and removing ob stacles on the road : - " The bearers of this, citizens of the United States of America, Messrs. Collins and Peyton, are proceeding from Moscow to Irkutsk with the authorization of the im perial government.

" I have the honor to request all the chief authorities to give a free passage to Messrs. Collins and Peyton, and, in case of need, to offer to them legal protection, and to contribute to the celerity of their journey. In faith of which I have given them this open passport, with my sig nature, and to which I have attached my seal. " Mouravieff, " Governor-General of Eastern Siberia." This passport or poderojina authorized us to demand post horses at the stations on the road. Captain Ana koff, however, carried his own poderojina, and, so far as our way lay together, relieved us of all care or responsi bility. We purchased in Moscow a stock of the warmest clothing we could find and laid in provisions and supplies of both a solid and liquid nature. We carried our own DEPARTURE FOB SIBERIA. 9 tea, sugar, salt, spices, together with hams, biscuits, and other substantial provender.

It is the invariable custom in Russia to start on a journey in the evening instead of the morning. We therefore spent the last day of our residence in Moscow in making farewell calls upon our friends and acquaintances, and at the approach of darkness we were sufficiently fatigued to be glad to take refuge in our sleigh, and sufficiently warmed by the farewell glasses we had emptied to face with indifference the chill air of a Rus sian winter night. * 1*

Chapter II. From Moscow To Nijne-noygorod

f The bells attached to the yoke of our shaft-horse jingled merrily ; our sleigh slid upon the slippery road from one side to the other ; the driver selected the smooth est places, and the clatter of the horses' feet grew faster and faster, as, answering to the command of the captain — poshol! poshol-skoro ! — go ! go quick ! he applied the lash to his frosty horses. The road on which we were travelling is the artery of an extensive commerce, dotted with villages, towns and cities. At every change of horses at the post-stations, we found a warm room, where we could prepare our own tea, from the quickly-steaming samovar, and procure such fare as the house afforded, in addition to what we had in our own provision-box. Night or day, these rooms are always heated, and if not quite as comfortable or as luxu riously furnished as the hotels we left behind us in New York, Paris, or St. Petersburg, they were nevertheless very acceptable.

Post after post, and station after station succeeded ; night hung heavy and chill upon me ; morning came, but I had not closed an eye. In fact, I did not require sleep, FROM MOSCOW TO NIJNE-NOYGOROD. 11 my mind was so busy with the future ; for more than a year I had been straining every nerve to reach the goal of my ambition — the Amoor. I was now on the high road to it, with the Czar's permission in my pocket, and an officer of General Mouravieff 's staff seated in my sleigh — what could I wish more ? my highest hopes were accomplished, and if I could survive the rigors of a Siberian winter, and the fatigue of five thousand miles of travel, after the lapse of a few months I should be afloat upon the waters of the Amoor, on my way to the Eastern Ocean, opposite to the shores of my own country.

My mind was busy with the future, and I saw that night, as if by inspiration, the deep snows open before me ; the forests waved and toppled ; long and beautiful vistas stretched out in the dim distance ; great rivers, with broad and gentle currents, invited me on, and a great ocean seemed to bound the extended horizon. I dreamed, but my eyes were open ; I saw, though the night was dark. We discovered, before the close of the day, that the interior arrangement of our sleigh was far from being comfortable ; we had left the seats in the body of the carriage-top ; these should have been removed, our bag gage placed as evenly as possible on the bottom, over which our extra furs and skins should have been spread upon a good coating of straw, or covered with a mattrass, on which we could, as convenience prompted, have sat or stretched ourselves at length.

The best Russian travellers (the couriers) seldom lie down in the vehicle, wagon, or sleigh, but with a pillow or two, or a leathern cushion placed behind them, sit upright all the time, sleeping or waking ; this, I understand, is considered the safest and best mode, and less fatiguing in long journeys, as many persons have their spines in jured by the motion of the vehicle or the roughness of the roads, in those long and terrible Siberian expeditions. Eight or ten stations were passed before we reached Vlademir, one hundred and twelve miles from Moscow. It is a pleasant-looking city, with many fine churches and public buildings, and is situated on the Kliazma branch ofthe Oka, a tributary ofthe Volga. It was founded in the eleventh century, and the present population is ten thousand. It was the capital of the Principality of Vlade mir from A.D. 1157 to 1328, when it was annexed to the grand duchy of Moscow.

The cathedral of St. Dmetre once formed a part of its ancient palace ; the cathedral of the Assumption was built in 1169, and contains the ancient regalia of its princes ; many of its buildings are of great antiquity. The ancient city is supposed to have extended as far as the convent of Bogholubeskoy, a distance of seven miles. The trade is in linen, feathers, cherries, etc. The bricklayers and carpenters of this city are in great request. Vlademir is said to have been the burial-place of Saint Alexander Nevsky, whose remains were removed to St. Petersburg by order of Peter the Great, to give eclat to his new capital. It is said that the Saint, not liking the new and miser able quarters assigned to him on the banks of the Neva, picked up his wet bones one bright moonlight night, and made his way back to his old resting-place — the monks declaring that he never would rest quietly on the Neva.

Peter, hearing of this " monkish theoric," whis- FROM MOSCOW TO NIJNE-NOYGOROD. pered into their ears a very different story, and told them that if the Saint did not find his way back to the Neva, and that in right good time, he would teach them a lesson in ghost-walking that they would not soon forget. Peter was not to be baulked in his plans on the Neva, and St. Alexander, being the hero of the great triumph of Russia over her enemies upon the shores of that river, or perhaps upon the very spot where he proposed to found his city, it was highly proper, and certainly much to the Saint's worldly honor, that he should take up his abode in the new capital. Peter was right ; the monks reported the Saint all snug and dry enough again on the Neva ; and now his remains repose at the Convent of the Nevsky, at the foot of the Nevsky-prospective in St. Petersburg, under a silver tomb, richly ornamented, and in one of the most pleasant places in the city of palaces.

Our horses were yoked to the sleigh, and the post master poked his head in at the door and said gotovey! We passed through Sood-ogh-da-Moor-om, founded by the Sarmatians before the eleventh century. There are rich mines of iron and copper here. There is much trade in corn, leather, and skins, and the annual fair is held in June, for ten days. The population is from five to seven thousand. The town stands on the Oka, the sands of which were formerly rich in gold, and is one of the most ancient places in Muscovy. Night arrived again, but we hurried on, regardless of che darkness ; the frost was severe, with a piercing wind, and the road far from good. The driver beat the jaded horses into an unwilling gallop, upon the promise of an extra grevna, as we were anxious to reach Nijne- Novgorod very early in the morning.

The beasts were so poor, and so jaded from previous hard driving, that it had, even at the start, taken a thousand " chorts" and " duraks " to get them out of a snail's pace. It was, therefore, well along towards noon before the gilded domes and silver spires of Nijne arose from the snowy horizon. We gal loped rapidly through the broad and well-built streets, up to the door of the Gostennitzah, the best hotel in the city.

Chapter III. Nijne-novgorod

— THE GREAT FAIR. We bore a letter from Governor-General Mouravieff, of Siberia, to General Mouravieff, his kinsman, governor of Nijne-Novgorod. Immediately upon our arrival, we sent the letter to him, and it was not long before a mes senger was at our lodgings, with an invitation to dine with the governor. He entertained us with great kindness and hospitality. His palace stands within the citadel, and every thing about it had a military air. The governor has seen much service in Asia and on the Kuban and among the Georgians ; is a gallant soldier, and a man of great talent, and one in whom the pres ent Czar has much confidence. He has taken an active and influential part in the great measure for the emanci pation of the serfs, which is now being carried out by the imperial government. The governor's wife and niece were present at the dinner, and we found their society very agreeable.

The niece spoke English ; in fact, English, French, and Ger man were spoken by different members of the governor's family. The niece mentioned the few Americans who had visited Nijne and those she had seen at Moscow during the coronation. She had kept the cards of those with whom she had become acquainted, and at her request we added ours to the collection. We spent a very pleasant evening in conversation with this accomplished family, among other things speaking of the commerce of the city, a subject with which the ladies seemed well acquainted. We parted reluctantly from these agreeable people, and were sorry that we could not remain a few days longer in the city. We took a drive around the town in company with the chief of police, seeing what we could of it in so short a time. The weather was far from agreeable.

The wind blew fiercely, and considerable snow fell during the day. The object of greatest interest connected with this city is the yearly fair held here. Not having been so fortunate as to have witnessed it, I subjoin the following ani mated description, from Murray's excellent Handbook for Russia : — " Twenty-four hours' travelling from Murom will bring the stranger within sight of the white walls and blue domes of Novgorod. The fair is held in the autumn, and the weather is at that season generally fine, so that dust, not mud, will be the misery ; but if there has been any rain, the road for the last nine miles will exceed, in depth of the latter, all that the tourist has ever been dragged through ; and one traveller states that he was five hours performing the last five miles. This is caused by the carriages, kibitkas, and telegas of the different streams of traders and merchandise converging to the central point.

Long lines of these vehicles will assure the stranger that he is approaching the town ; bands of Cossacks, stationed by way of police in rude tents along the road, with their long lances glittering among the trees, are seen in larger numbers ; and crowds of Russians and wild easternooking men, in singular and varied costumes, become every moment NIJNE-NOYGOROD THE GREAT FAIR. more dense, until, on reaching Nijni itself, the crowd and turmoil sur passes all description. " The town of Nijni is situated on a high triangular promontory, standing between the Volga and the confluence of the Oka with that river. The Oka at this point seems as large as the former, and is, in fact, a magnificent stream, and navigable for a great portion of its length. The position of Novgorod is so admirably adapted for com merce, and so central in regard to Asiatic as well as European Rus sia, that Peter the Great intended, at one time, to make it the seat of the capital of the empire, instead of the mouths of the Neva.

The country round it is also highly picturesque ; nevertheless those who founded the city do not seem to have courted the opportunities of en riching themselves by means of the two great rivers which flow by it, for the old town lies back behind the ridge. This mistake struck the present emperor very forcibly when he paid Nijni his first visit ; and he is said to have remarked, that 'nature had done everything, man nothing.' To remedy this, a suburb has been built along the face, and at the foot, of the high ground which forms the southern bank of the Oka. The principal part of the city lies on the summit of the trian gular height, and is chiefly composed of three handsome streets, con verging towards an irregular open space in front of the Kremlin, which covers the lofty point of the triangle immediately overhanging the Volga.

There is a beautiful terrace above this river, from whence is seen one of the most singular and extensive views in Europe ; as far as the eye can reach extends a vast plain of corn and sorest land. The city contains no fewer than 26 churches, some of which are of great size and beauty, two monasteries, and a nunnery. The Krem lin, with its low arched gates and jagged walls, is one of the most remarkable of these ancient structures now remaining in Russia. Curious, however, as the Kremlin and the various churches are, they possess, to one who has seen all the wonders in this way at Moscow and St. Petersburg!., little interest compared with the views from the spot on which they stand, and the two mighty rivers on which the traveller looks down, flowing so near that it seems as if a pebble could be thrown into either from this lofty eminence.

Turning, however, from the far east, the stranger must look in a contrary direction, and across the Oka, to the triangular piece of land between that river and the Volga, a low, and sometimes inundated flat, exposed to the waters of both these rivers, where, during the fair, is exhibited a picture of human life unparalleled in any other portion of the globe. Here is then seen a vast town of shops, laid out in regular streets, with churches, hospitals, barracks, and theatres, the whole tenanted by no less than from 250,000 to 300,000 souls, destined, however, in six weeks to be as silent and lifeless as the forest steppes of which we have just made mention ; for, when the fair is over, not an inhabitant of Nijni ever traverses the spot which annually swarms with foreigners. It must not be supposed that these shops are constructed like the English booth, of canvas, ropes, and poles ; they are, on the con trary, regular houses, built of the most substantial materials, generally of one story, with large shops to the front, and sleeping rooms for the merchant and his servants in the rear.

The interior portion of the fair is regularly laid out in twelve or thirteen streets of shops, terminating in a Russian church and twelve Chinese pavilions, from the summits of which there is a good view. It is said that a person would have to walk twenty-five miles if he promenaded every street ; and this does not include what may be termed the suburbs of the fair. The business of this fair is of such importance that the governor of the province takes up his residence in it during the two months it lasts, that is to say, July and August. His house, which is in the centre, is a hand some building, and accommodates a large train of secretaries and other officials. A dozen Chinese pagodas rise above the shops, and the whole stands upon vaulted cloacæ, into which dirt of every description ia conveyed.

These sewers, which are constructed r-f hewn stone, are cleaned out several times a day by pumps, which draw the water from the adjoining rivers, and are entered at several points by handsome staircases. They were constructed by the Emperor Alexander, and are worthy of the Morpeths of ancient Rome. Any one who shows a disposition to defile the streets is quickly enjoined by a Cossack to retire to the lower regions. A portion of the sums expended on these sewers, which, from the nature of the swampy soil, must have been enormous, would have been economized had a better site been selected ; but there seems to be a fatality attending the choice of position for public edifices all over the world, our own barracks in the West Indies included. The first view of this fair from the Kremlin is very striking ; but we must descend from that elevated spot and take the trav eller into the busy scene itself; this is about a mile from the centre of NIJNE-NOYGOROD THE GREAT FAIR. the city, though less from the outskirts, to which it is in fact united by a long and wide bridge of boats across the Oka, and a line of good houses along the steep and difficult slope leading to the bank of that river.

Here will be met a countless throng of every kind of vehicle. for this is the only bridge that connects the town of Nijni with the fair ; and the space between the street in question and the entrance to it is one of the very few spots in Russia where large masses of the popu lation can be seen congregated together, always excepting the military portion of it. On each side of the-bridge, and for more than a mile and a half above it. the river is wider than the Thames at Westminster, and so completely covered with boats, that the element on which they float is scarcely visible. These barges, of every variety of shape and tonnage, are either discharging or taking in their cargoes. The shop. in the fair near the bank thus receive their goods at once from the two rivers, and at the more remote parts of it there are canals which serve the same purpose.

An aquatic community, amounting to 40,000 per sons, from every corner of this side of the earth, inhabit this floating camp ; and their countenances and costumes are as varied and strange as the vessels they navigate. On the Volga, near the mouth of the Oka, and up and down the former river, extends a similar scene. Im mediately on leaving the bridge, the fair ground begins ; this part is crowded with mujiks looking out for employment, with a good sprink ling of Cossacks to keep order ; then come lines of temporary booths, displaying beads, trinkets, and articles of dress for the lower orders, par ticularly caps from Tartary, Kirghis bonnets, made of black wool, and flat gold-figured cowls from Kazan. These booths stand in front of the tea houses laid out with little tables ; and traktirs, or restaurants, large enough for two or three hundred persons to dine, in with comfort, at any price from ten silver kopeks to twelve silver rubles.